The Imprisoning War
by Jane O'Callaghan
Summary: Throughout countless centuries, Hyrule has always remembered the legend of the Hero of Time. However, there were some Hyruleans during that time who were just as important, but have been long since forgotten. This is their story. This is the legend of the Knights of Hyrule.
1. Chapter 1

**Leaping Sassafras! You can put little pictures to represent your story now! How cute is that? Too bad I don't have one...**

**Anyway, so before you get started reading this, keep in mind this chapter is a bit longer than what the other chapters will be. I was reading through some of my old stories and realized that the chapter lengths I used were horribly long, so I'm cutting that old length in half for shorter, more reader-friendly chapters. Except for this chapter. This one is not so reader-friendly, because it's just as horribly long as my past chapters from older stories. **

**Also, there are major _SPOILERS_ for Ocarina of Time throughout, so if you haven't played through that game yet I would recommend you do that first (this story will make a lot more sense that way anyway).**

**I don't own nothin'. Also, this fic is rated T for Ta-da! ...And some minor cursing and the killing of random monsters and stuff. **

* * *

Chapter I

In which the protagonists are introduced...

It had to be the most annoying creature... no, monster, that could ever exist. It constantly taunted her, never once giving her a moment's peace to rest or recuperate. It would sometimes allow her to get closer, almost close enough to grab it, but the moment she tried it would immediately let out the most deafening screech before scampering off again. Other times it would sit just out of her reach and stare at her with dark, mocking eyes, as if daring her to try again what she had been trying to do for the past few days now.

The sun struck hotly against her back. She paused for a moment to catch her breath, putting her hands on her knees and panting heavily.

"It's too hot to do this today," she grumbled to herself.

An obnoxious cluck took her attention from the heat that surrounded her, back to the creature she was still trying to catch. The bird tilted its head curiously, its white plumage ruffled from all the running.

"Why do you have to do this everyday?" the girl groaned at it. The only response she received was the cucco's crowing before it scuttled off once again, casting back a few glances to see if she would follow it. "Come on, Yorick! Aren't you tired yet? It's going to be lunch time soon."

The bird seemed quite happy to ignore her however, as it began to circle back in order to zigzag around right in front of her. Preparing herself for yet more running the young girl fixed the white bonnet on her head, hitched up her yellow colored skirt, and then sped off after the family pet.

Several minutes passed before she realized that someone else had joined in the chase. Glancing to her side she spotted a strangely garbed boy not much older than herself, a large grin on his face as he chased after her chicken. The young girl found herself slowing down as she studied this newcomer. The bright green tunic and hat was something she had never seen before, and as she continued to stare the boy looked towards her to see if something was wrong. Large, blue eyes met her her own blue ones. The two smiled largely before continuing the chase again; weird clothes or not, there was a game to be played and she wasn't about to ruin it by staring.

The two were soon giggling loudly as they tried to snatch up the large bird, but it was all to no avail. Yorick seemed to have no problem avoiding the pair. As the sun sank lower the young girl paused and glanced to her side again. The boy had disappeared. Sighing, she slowly started to trudge back home. The familiar sound of clucking and talons scraping against the cobblestoned streets followed her as she navigated the darkening alleyways.

Child and cucco entered their home together, both acting as if the events of the day had never happened and that they were the best of friends.

"Oh there you are, Hana," the girl's mother greeted. "I see you found Yorick."

Hana seated herself at the table, where a modest supper was being laid out. Yorick stood as a sentry near her seat, pecking at her shoes in the hopes that she would drop some of her bread for him.

"If Papa could just remember to shut the door behind him when he leaves for work, Yorick wouldn't get out everyday."

Her mother laughed. "You know how forgetful your father is. Now eat; tomorrow I need you to run down to the store and pick up some things for me. And for heaven's sake, feed that poor cucco before he starves!"

The next day Hana spent her hours in much the same manner that she usually did: chasing after Yorick. The only difference this time was that after dinner her mother sent her off with a shopping list.

"Do hurry before they close, Hana!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" Hana shouted back.

She was nearly out of the alley that led to her house when she suddenly thought she heard the clanking of the drawbridge. Frowning, she glanced up at the sky. The sun was already almost completely hidden behind the hills, the drawbridge should have already been lowered. She stood still, ducking under one of the empty market stalls when a fat raindrop hit the back of her neck.

The sounds of the drawbridge began to fade away, only to be replaced by the rapid beating of a horse's hooves against the ground. Hana stared in awe as Princess Zelda suddenly came into view, mounted on a white steed along with an older woman whom Hana didn't recognize. She felt like she should say something; it wasn't everyday one got to meet the princess. But then she was gone. The horse flew past her, neither of its riders sparing her a second's glance.

Hana waited a few seconds before daring to step out from under the stall. The rain was pouring heavily now, masking the sounds of a second horse approaching. The horse itself was pitch black, and if it weren't for the blazing red hair of the man riding it Hana wouldn't have seen it at all. Once again she was forced to duck behind the counter of fruits and vegetables, this time to avoid being trampled to death.

"Watch it!" Hana shouted, but her voice was drowned out by the rain.

Knowing that by now the bazaar would be closed, and desperate to tell her mother about seeing the princess, Hana quickly scrambled out from her hiding place and into the rain. She was instantly soaked by the pouring water. Lightening flashed around her, and the distant sound of thunder could just be heard over the droplets hitting the streets.

Shivering, Hana quickly began to make her way back when she suddenly bumped into another man. She instantly recognized him as one of the twins, though what his name was she had no idea. All she knew was that this was the blue one, so called because he always wore a blue shirt.

"Did you see that? That horse almost ran over me!" the man shouted over the storm, his hair dripping against his face.

"Me, too! I'm going home!"

"Good idea! My brother will never believe this!"

Hana opened her mouth to respond, but the man had already left. She frowned, realizing that her mother would probably never believe her either. Feeling despondent over this realization, and noticing that the rain was beginning to let up, she decided to run towards the store anyway and see if she could convince the owner to let her buy her things anyway. The man was nice enough, he probably would.

Splashing through the shallow puddles, she quickly made her way across the streets. Before she could make it, she recognized the sound of soft footsteps approaching. Still anxious from her encounter with the giant, black horse, Hana quickly ducked behind the stone fountain in the center of the square. It was around the time that she was peeking out from her hiding spot that she realized there was a disturbing lack of guards in the area. Usually the square had several guards patrolling the area at night, but tonight there was no one. Not a single soul.

Then the person she was hiding from revealed himself, and Hana instantly recognized him to be the boy who had tried to help her catch Yorick the other day. She was about to jump out and greet him when she noticed the desperate expression on the boy's face. Feeling uncertain, Hana decided to follow him for a while instead, and see what was going on.

The boy rushed inside the Temple of Time. Hana hesitated before running to the side of the sacred building and peering through one of its many windows. Her eyes widened when she saw the boy placing three beautiful stones onto a pedestal and then pulling out a blue ocarina. At first Hana couldn't hear a single note being played, but then the walls of the temple began to resonate with a deep hum. Low notes flew through the temple, surrounding the entire area in their music.

Hana stood, mesmerized, as the notes faded and the Door of Time began to slowly open to reveal a darkened room that Hana couldn't see into. The boy rushed inside, disappearing from the young girl's view. Barely a few seconds passed before another figure entered the temple and cautiously approached the same room. Hana covered her mouth to muffle her gasp when she was able to recognize the figure. It was the same man that had nearly trampled her and the blue twin. The tall Gerudo was soon out of Hana's view as well, leaving a distressed Hana to wonder if she should go in and warn her new friend.

Before she could make a decision, the entire temple was suddenly surrounded by a blinding, blue light. It knocked Hana away from the wall, sending her flying into the nearby bushes. She remained where she had landed, cowering in fear, until the light finally disappeared. Surrounded by darkness, Hana carefully pushed back the leaves of the bush she was currently sitting in and peered out at the temple. She saw the Gerudo march out of the temple, laughing about something under his breath. Then he was gone, back to the town. Hana waited with bated breath, but when he didn't appear to be coming back she quickly scampered into the temple to check on her friend.

The Hylian had been inside the temple many times, and it had always given off an air of calm serenity. This time, however, there was a strange feeling in the air, as if several people were sitting around waiting tensely for something to happen. It was an incredibly uncomfortable feeling, and Hana felt a shiver run down her spine. Nonetheless, she was still concerned for her friend; forcing herself to continue on, she tiptoed past the stones and into the second room.

Inside was a long flight of stairs that led to some sort of pedestal. After approaching it, Hana realized that the pedestal was meant to hold some sort of sword. Whatever weapon it had been holding, however, was gone, as was the boy. Hana glanced around but couldn't find anything else, not even a place where someone the boy's size could've easily hidden if he had wanted to.

"Hello?" Hana's voice echoed throughout the room hollowly. Multiple copies of her own voice washed over her, but that was the only sound she could hear. A few minutes passed, and finally Hana left. She took a few steps towards the path that led back to town when there was a sound of something rustling in the bushes. Hana froze and peered towards the plant life, trying to make out what was behind them.

"Who's there?" Hana demanded, wincing at the unsteadiness in her voice. The rustling instantly stopped. The young girl could just make out a throaty cackle before the sounds of some sort of small creature scampering away from her reached her ears. Heart beating loudly in her chest, Hana ran the rest of the way home.

* * *

Months passed, and in that time the town became more and more subdued. The market stalls were barely visited, and most people refused to speak louder than a whisper. Why they acted this way they had no idea, however there was a thick feeling of despair that grew everyday. Rumors of strange creatures being seen near the castle were being spread until finally the town began to believe that the king was dead.

"There's no more news from the army, and they left just a few days ago. Do you suppose...?"

"No news from the castle still; I heard that the princess and her attendant disappeared..."

Hana sat next to the small gathering of people, watching as each in turn voiced their concerns over the lack of information they were getting from the royal family. Finally the Hylian grew tired of hearing what she had been hearing every day for the past few weeks. She stood and went back inside her house, only to find her mother packing her things into a bag.

"Are we going somewhere?" Hana asked.

"Kakariko Village," her mother answered breathlessly. "A few others are planning on going there, we're going to travel together. It'll be safer that way."

"Are we at war?" Hana asked just as her father entered their house. Her mother froze, but her father looked sharply down at Hana.

"Where did you hear a thing like that?"

Hana shrugged. "It's what some of the others are saying. The army was called away and nobody can get to the castle because of the tight security. I think it's that Gerudo."

Her mother groaned, "Not this again."

"He was at the temple when that light was there! I think he killed that one boy, and he was chasing the princess before!"

"Hana," her father began. "You're too young to be worrying about this."

"Well if we aren't at war then why are we leaving home?"

"One of the guards at the castle told me it would be safer to leave for somewhere less important for now. It's just a precaution, the extra guards will protect this place while we're gone."

"But _why_ are there extra guards here if we're not at war?"

"Hana, help your mother pack."

Scowling, Hana did as she was bid. Soon the small family was lugging out their bags and joining with a small collection of other townsfolk, all similarly burdened with luggage. There were a few people there that Hana personally knew, including an elderly man that was always happy to share his knowledge with anyone who asked, and an older woman whose only child was her dog Richard. Hana hung close to her parents as they began the long trek to the village. Yorick trotted behind the group, pecking at the ground happily as he went.

The sun was sinking low behind some hills by the time they arrived. With numb legs and sore feet, Hana began to trudge wearily up the steps that led to the mountain village. She was so exhausted that she barely registered the rising commotion around her. It took the heavy set guard almost crashing into her for her to wake up from her daze and notice that her group was falling behind.

"The castle!" one woman shrieked.

Hana whirled around and saw her parents, along with the others, staring in terror back the way they had come. All weariness was wiped from the young Hylian's body when she saw what they were looking at. The town they had left just that morning was alight with a bright glow and horrified screams.

"Is that fire? The whole town's under attack!" she heard her father say.

"The goddesses help those people," her mother said. "Where's the army? Why are they so far away?"

More guards ran past Hana, spears in hand. One paused long enough to turn to the group. "They were all called to the desert to deal with the Gerudo threat. Quick, any able bodied man, grab a weapon and follow us, we're the only defense in this area!"

Hana stared as her father and a few others took up some spears and ran after the other guards. "No, papa, don't go!" Hana screamed, but he was already surrounded by the fully armored guards, and her voice never reached him.

"Quickly, Hana, into the village!" Hana felt her mother grab her arm and yank her roughly up the remaining stairs. The group of women, along with the elderly man, stopped at the village's entrance; the Kakariko villagers were all gathered underneath the gateway, staring at the sky. Hana turned and looked as well, her heart sinking when she saw that the area above Hyrule Castle Town was lit up as if it were daylight. Distant screams could still be heard, but they began to fade as time slowly dragged along.

The next few minutes passed in a blur for Hana; when she became aware of her surroundings again she found herself in large house that, apparently, they were going to share with several other refugees.

"When will Papa be back?" Hana whispered to her mother.

"Soon, Hana. Go to sleep."

The next day, her father had not returned. Neither had any of the others that had left the previous night. There was no news, and everyone else was too afraid of what they would find to risk a journey to the town. Hana was sitting outside with Yorick, picking at the grass glumly and watching the thick clouds of smoke that were rising above the village from where the town stood.

An unfamiliar voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Hey, want to hunt ghosts with me?"

Hana looked up to see a boy of about her age, perhaps a bit younger, staring at her. He had a single tuft of red hair sticking out over his eyes while the rest of his head was shaved completely bald, and wide blue eyes that reminded her of the boy who had disappeared in the Temple of Time. "What?" she asked, not quite comprehending what he was saying.

"Ghost hunting! Want to come? The adults usually don't have time for it, but I thought you would, since you're... you know... not an adult."

Hana stood up and brushed off her skirt. "I guess."

"Awesome! I'm Takashi, by the way, but you can just call me Tak. That's what everyone else does!"

Hana followed Tak quietly as he led the way to the graveyard, chatting away amiably. "There's an old grave keeper here, Dampe; he's terrifying! One look at him, and all the ghosts just run away! I'd like to be like him someday, but I'm so cute I doubt it will happen."

Hana couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped her after hearing that.

"What? You don't think I'm cute?" Tak suddenly stopped and turned sharply to face her. He was shorter than her by a few inches, and had to stare up to meet her eyes.

"Can we just look for ghosts please?"

"Fine, fine," Tak grumbled, and continued to lead the way.

They reached the graveyard; Hana glanced around and surveyed the field that was covered with grave stones. A cold, empty wind hit her face. She couldn't hold back the choking sobs that suddenly began to overwhelm her.

* * *

**Told you it was horribly long! But, like I said before, the other chapters will be about half this length, excepting (possibly) the final chapter. If you have any questions whatsoever, please leave them in a review (or PM), and I'll answer as much as I can unless it gives away something that will happen later! Also, bonus points/cookies to anyone who can guess where I got the name for Yorick from! **

**Questions/comments/problems? Leave a review, please and thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

In which Hana meets an unlikely person...

They were all dead. That was the report that returned to Kakariko Village a few days later. Every single guard and civilian that had gone to help the burning Hyrule Castle Town was gone. It was the twins that brought this message, they had managed to escape the slaughter and run to the village. Hana found herself hating her new home. Her mother would not stop crying, and the atmosphere of the entire village was that of complete resignation; resignation to the fact that someday, they would probably share the same fate. No word of what had happened to the royal family was available, but it was obvious that the castle had been taken over by someone. It was only a matter of time now before all of Hyrule was overrun by the monsters that had been spotted near the castle.

Instead of remaining in her depressing household, Hana began to spend more and more time with Tak. Despite the fact that the younger boy had also lost his father in the same battle that had claimed Hana's father, Tak seemed to be handling the affair much better than anyone else.

"I never really knew him, you know?" Tak said casually as he swung his stick at one of the gravestones. "I mean, he was always nearby, guarding the path to Death Mountain and all, but he had long hours and by the time he got home I was already asleep. He did get me an awesome mask for my birthday this year though!"

Hana listened silently, her hands in her pockets and her eyes watching the wind push through the neatly trimmed grass. A light drizzle was pouring over them, causing the air to smell damp and earthy, but the pair barely even noticed as the water continued to splash onto their heads.

"Besides, he always dreamed of being in a battle. I guess he died doing what he wanted, can't ask for much more, can we?"

"Is that really all we can hope for?" Hana asked quietly. "Dying as we achieve our goal?"

Tak shrugged. "Sure, I guess. I mean, nowadays, anyway."

Hana nodded slowly. "Nowadays; I suppose so."

The two exchanged solemn glances before the familiar beat of Dampe the grave keeper's footsteps grabbed their attention.

"It's getting late, guys," the old man said gruffly. "Time to pack it in before your ma's get worried."

"They probably wouldn't even notice!" Tak complained. "Besides, it's not fair. The ghosts don't come out until night, you can't keep sending us back right before dark!"

"I can do what I want, you brat! It's my graveyard!"

Tak stuck his tongue out at the older man, who mimicked the movement before Hana gripped the young boy by his arm and dragged him back to the village.

"We'll be back, Dampe!" Tak shouted.

"I'm so scared!" Dampe shouted back sarcastically, a masked laugh in his voice.

Listening to the two throw insults at each other forced a smile onto Hana's face. The movement felt so foreign to the young girl, however, that it quickly faded.

"Hana!" Tak suddenly said, stopping so shortly that he nearly ended up pulling the girl to the ground.

"What?" Hana snapped back impatiently.

"Let's sneak into the graveyard tonight! Maybe we'll see a real ghost!"

"Do we even want to see a real ghost?" Hana asked wearily.

"Well, probably not, but, I mean, it's something to do. You know? Or we could just go back to our houses..." Tak shot her a sideways glance, knowing he had her with that remark.

Hana sighed as she thought of spending another night listening to her mother's muffled sobs. "Alright, but let's grab some blankets first. I don't want to sit on the hard ground all night."

"Oh don't be such a girl, Hana! Come on, we're going to be running from ghosts in a few hours anyway, we won't have time to sit still!"

Hana rolled her eyes as she was pulled back towards the graveyard. They slipped past Dampe, who was tending to one of the graves and humming a tune under his breath. The pair were soon settled behind one of the larger gravestones, completely hidden from Dampe. Hana leaned back against the grave marker, letting the cold stone press into her back. They sat for hours, peering into the darkness and waiting for a ghost to appear. As the minutes slowly ticked by, Hana felt more and more that she actually did want to see a ghost. Any sign that there was an afterlife.

* * *

Hana awoke with a start; she was still in the graveyard, but the sun was beginning to rise. The previous night's rain had stopped for the moment, the only signs that it had been there being the damp ground beneath them. Despite the wet grass she was sitting on, Hana realized she didn't really feel all that cold. She sat up, rubbing at her eyes, and found that a heavy blanket had been placed over both her and Tak. Tak was still sound asleep, curled under the blanket. Glancing towards the small hut where Dampe lived, she could just make out the figure of the old man sitting near the window. He waved at her and then disappeared from sight.

Tak suddenly sat up, nearly hitting his head against Hana in his rush. "Huh, what? Where'd this blanket come from?"

"I think Dampe gave it to us."

"Aw man, I fell asleep! Now we'll never know if there were ghosts here or not! Huh? What do you mean Dampe gave this to us? Our hiding spot was perfect, he couldn't have found us." Tak stood up and brushed damp blades of grass off of his pants. Hana followed suit, cleaning her skirt as best she could.

"We should return it," Hana said, picking up the blanket and folding it as neatly as she could.

"Fine, whatever. I bet he hung out here all night, scaring off any ghosts so that we wouldn't know they exist."

Hana smiled; she agreed with Tak. Dampe had probably stayed awake all night, watching over them. They knocked lightly on the door, but Dampe, as usual, refused to let them in.

"Get lost, brats! How many times do I have to tell you, keep off my property!"

Hana sighed. "We just wanted to return this and thank you!"

Tak scowled at her. "No we didn't. Return the blanket, sure, but don't _thank_ him!"

Dampe yanked his door open and snatched the blanket from Hana's hands. "Fine, now get lost."

The door was promptly slammed in their faces.

"Lousy old man," Tak grumbled as he began to walk stiffly back to the village.

"Thank you!" Hana called through the wooden door before following her friend.

* * *

Days slowly grouped together to form months, until nearly a year had passed since Hyrule Castle had been taken over. The new king, King Ganondorf as he called himself, had stated that so long as the villagers obeyed him and submitted to him as their king, he would allow them to live.

"King Ganondorf. What sort of name is that?" Hana scoffed as she tossed the pamphlet that was being passed around the village.

Tak picked it up and scowled at it, as if Ganondorf could actually see his resentment through the paper. "He's not king until he's proven he's killed the entire royal family. You know, the real royal family, rightful heirs to the throne and all that." The boy had started to let the rest of his hair grow, and his head was now full of red tufts sticking out in random directions.

Hana sighed as she seated herself onto one of the many steps that led into the village. Hyrule Field spread out beneath her; the sky was covered with a thick layer of clouds that had been hovering there for months now, blocking out the sun. "He can be king if he wants to, who's going to stop him? There's no one left to fight, the entire army is dead now."

Tak plopped down next to her. "Well, I guess," he replied uncertainly.

"Want to come to Lon Lon Ranch with me? Mom needs more milk, and lately Talon hasn't wanted to risk sending the horses out onto the fields to deliver supplies."

Tak considered this then shook his head. "Nah, I promised Dampe I'd help with some crows that are nesting too close to his house."

"Ok, see you then!"

"Be careful!"

"You, too!" Hana called back as the two began to walk in separate directions.

"I don't need to be careful, it's just a bunch of stupid crows! I can handle them!" Tak hollered back indignantly.

Hana chuckled to herself as she walked briskly along the path that led to the ranch. She was making good progress, and it was barely noon before the gates to the ranch became visible. As she drew closer, the familiar sound of horse hooves beating against the ground reached her ears; she frowned when she realized that this sound seemed to be coming from the wrong direction and not from the ranch at all. Turning around, Hana spotted a small cloud of dust heading towards her, the image of a panicked horse appearing as the cloud came closer.

Hana was forced to leap out of the way as a white stallion came dangerously close to trampling her. The animal pulled to a sudden stop next to the girl and gazed at her with desperate eyes. A low groan caused Hana to turn her attention towards the person mounted on the horse. Hana felt her jaw drop open as she gazed upon the familiar face of the nearly unconscious rider.

"P..." Hana found herself having difficulty forming the words that were racing through her mind. "Princess Zelda?"

* * *

**So, last chapter I forgot to let you all know what my plan is for when I'll be updating this thingy. I thought that I would aim for twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday. Now keep in mind that I live in the US, so some of you might be getting updates on different days than that; I'm of the understanding that Australia is in the future from the US (what fun!), and you guys (if there's any Australians reading this) are in Friday right now, but for me it's Thursday and I imagine that it's different like that in other areas of the world, too. I basically decided to update early, to let you know that there's another chapter on the way tomorrow. Plus I figured it wouldn't hurt to have an extra chapter this week, so y'all can figure out sooner if you want to keep reading or not.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three has arrived! And check it out, I got a picture for it finally! It's not the best representation of it, but it's certainly better than my goofy animal friends :-D**

**Also, a big big thanks to the person who favorited this story, that was awesome! Of course, there's always the possibility that you favorited this by accident (it's happened before); there's so many buttons to accidentally click that I wouldn't blame you if that's the case. Still it really made my day to see, so thanks!**

* * *

Chapter III

In which the protagonists learn of Link...

"Princess Zelda? Are you alright? Goodness, no, you're not! You've got an arrow in your shoulder!" Hana could hear herself blabbering on, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. Most of her brain was far too preoccupied with the fact that Zelda was still alive and here she was right in front of her, dressed in a muddied white and pink dress and staring at her with bleary, blue eyes.

"The ranch," Zelda managed to murmur before her head collapsed against her horse's neck.

"The ranch?" Hana asked, confused. Then realization dawned on her and she quickly glanced around to make sure nothing sinister was close by. "The ranch! Of course! Quick, horse!"

Hana gripped the large animal by the reigns and led it the rest of the way to the ranch. Soon the trio were safely concealed behind the high cliffs and walls that surrounded the small farm. The only conscious Hylian aware of Zelda began to immediately shout for the assistance of the farmhands.

Malon, the ranch owner's daughter, was the first to come running.

"Goddesses, is that the princess?" Malon exclaimed excitedly. "She's actually alive!?"

"Barely," Hana said worriedly as she quickly put up a hand to keep the young royalty from falling to the ground.

Malon instantly saw the arrow protruding from the princess' arm and snapped out of her daze. "Hurry then, let's get her down and inside before someone sees. Ingo! Get this horse in the barn and hidden!"

Hana and Malon together were able to slide the princess out of her saddle and inside the large farm house. A tall man who had been lurking near the barn rushed out and quickly led the exhausted horse into the other building.

"Who shot her?" Malon asked as the two girls stepped over a sleeping Talon and up the stairs to the bedroom.

"No idea," Hana grunted, struggling to hold her share of the weight. "I just found her like this on my way here."

"Goddesses, I thought the entire family had been killed. Do you think the king is still alive?"

Hana didn't respond; she had no answer, and only a bad feeling that the real answer was anything but good news. The three collapsed onto Malon's bed before both Hana and Malon quickly scurried out from under the princess and stood up.

"We should get help," Hana said worriedly.

"We can't! Who are we supposed to trust with this?" Malon whispered.

"She could die if we don't get a doctor!" Hana argued as a pained expression flickered over Zelda's face.

"And what do you think will happen to her if we get the wrong person?" Malon demanded.

Hana realized with a start that Malon was right. "Then what do we do?"

"Go down and get some milk from the cows. I'll do my best to deal with this arrow."

"Have you ever treated an arrow wound before?" Hana asked uncertainly.

"Well... no. Have you?" Malon asked hopefully.

Hana just shook her head.

"Well we can't just leave it in there. What if it's poisoned? Go and get the milk!"

"On it." Hana quickly raced down the stairs and to the barn, nearly tripping on the snoring bulk that was Talon. Hana was standing in front of one of the nearest cows when she realized that she had no idea how to actually milk the creature.

"Need something?" Ingo asked, entering the barn.

"Could I get some milk?"

"Do you have a bottle?"

"It's not for me, it's for the princess! She needs it!"

"Oh. Fine." The man set to work on milking the cow, grumbling under his breath about something or other. Hana couldn't make out what he was saying, nor did she really care. Ingo was taking a painstakingly long time at the task, and it felt like hours passed before she had a bottle of milk in her hands and was running back inside.

Sounds of screaming from upstairs forced Hana to run even faster; she leaped up the stairs two at a time and charged inside. Zelda was half sitting up, screaming in pain as Malon gripped the arrow with one hand and tried to hold the princess down with the other.

"What's taking so long? Just yank it out!" Hana shouted over the princess' pained screams.

"It must be barbed or something, it's stuck!" Malon shouted back, tears streaming down her face.

Hana set the milk down on a nearby table and quickly gripped the arrow along with Malon. "We'll just give it a good yank, alright? On the count of three."

Malon nodded at her, her eyes wide with fear. Hana slowly counted to three, silently sent a desperate prayer to the goddesses, and then pulled with all her might. The arrow came free; Zelda collapsed back onto the pillow underneath her and fell silent. Malon quickly placed a cloth over the princess' shoulder to stop the bleeding.

Hana breathed a sigh of relief as she examined the arrow still in her hands. It was a nasty looking weapon; the point was incredibly sharp looking and it was indeed barbed, but it was also lined with several razor like spikes that were curved and pointing in random directions. Wincing at the thought of having that stuck in one's arm, Hana quickly tossed it to the side and turned her attention back to Zelda and Malon.

The pain from Zelda's face had disappeared, leaving behind a pallid skin color and beads of sweat dripping from her forehead.

"I think she'll be alright now," Malon said quietly.

Hana nodded and then made a surprised exclamation when Zelda slowly opened her eyes. "Princess Zelda?"

Zelda focused on the brunette, her eyelids struggling to remain open. "Where is Impa?"

"Impa?" Hana and Malon exchanged confused glances.

"My attendant."

"Oh, of course," Hana said quickly. "I didn't see anyone else. It was just you."

Zelda groaned and let her eyes close for a few seconds before speaking again. "I remember, we were separated."

Malon cleared her throat. "Milady, if you don't mind me asking... are you here with an army to reclaim Hyrule Castle?"

Her hopes and Hana's were crushed when Zelda shook her head. "I have been in hiding for over a year now. There is no one available to fight."

"Well, with all due respect," Hana began. "What are we supposed to do then? Bow down to King Ganondorf?"

Zelda snorted and then winced when the movement moved her shoulder. "He is no king. He is merely a deluded man." Confident eyes met Hana's. "We must simply wait."

"Wait?" Malon asked despondently. "For what?"

"Link."

"Who?"

"Link. He will return, he must; I know he will. I can feel he is still alive, somewhere."

"Who exactly is this super hero we're supposed to be waiting for?" Hana asked doubtfully.

"He is... the Hero of Time. He was able to open the Door."

Realization struck Hana. "That boy! In the Temple of Time! I saw him. But... I think he's dead. He was enveloped in this blue light, and then he just disappeared."

"No!" Zelda became breathless. "He is not. He will return! He has to..." Zelda slipped into unconsciousness again.

Hana and Malon were silent for a few minutes before a scowl began to grow on Hana's face. "Is that what she's been doing this whole time? Waiting for someone who could very well be dead to reappear."

"She's our princess, we have to trust that she knows what she is doing," Malon said solemnly.

Hana was about to respond when the voice of Talon from downstairs interrupted her thoughts. "What in tarnation!?"

Then another voice shouted alongside it, muffled slightly from the distance and the wooden door that separated the two floors; Hana couldn't help but smile as she recognized the stubborn voice of Tak. "I said, where's Hana?! She's late!"

"How in the blazes should I know, kid!?"

Hana grinned. "I'm up here, Tak!"

"Well there you go then!" Tak said, his voice annoyed as he stomped up the stairs. He stopped when he entered the bedroom. "Oh what the heck is this!? Is that Zelda!?"

* * *

**Next chapter things start to pick up, so if you've been bored so far then hopefully next week will change that! Until then: have a great weekend, everyone, and I'll see you Tuesday!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter IV

In which the protagonists take a risk...

Darkness was slowly beginning to creep its way onto the ranch. Hana was sitting in the barn, the pleasant smell of hay surrounding her as she leaned her back against one of the walls. The horses had already been led inside by Ingo; none of them seemed to mind Zelda's horse joining them as they munched on the warm straw.

"So, do you believe her?" Tak asked her, sitting down next to her.

Hana shrugged and started to tear apart a stray strand of hay that had escaped from the animal pens.

Tak sighed. "It's sort of weird isn't it? The princess is back, but all we're supposed to do is wait for some guy. He sure is taking his sweet time, isn't he? I mean, how long are we supposed to wait anyway?"

Hana shrugged again.

"You told me about that guy, too; I thought you thought he was dead."

"I don't really know. I never saw a body."

"All the same, he doesn't seem to want to show up."

Hana looked up at the ceiling, watching clouds of dust swirl around above their heads. "Zelda's the last surviving member of the royal family. We have a duty to show some faith in her."

"Faith is all well and good, until we die of old age never having seen this Link fellow."

"He'll show up."

"And how do you know? You sound like Miss Princess Comatose up at the house." Tak instantly took on a high-pitched voice, "The Hero of Time will most definitely show up; I know, because I'm the princess, and because he's the hero... of time... and saves time or something."

He stopped when Hana playfully shoved him into the wall. "Because, genius, I _saw_ him. I saw that sense of having the whole world on his shoulders in his eyes. He wouldn't just leave if he had a choice."

"So... we're going to believe the princess then?" Tak asked, his voice back to normal.

Hana opened her mouth to answer when suddenly the door swung open and Malon's head appeared in through the gap. "She's awake, and insisting that she leave right away. I can't convince her to stay, I could use some help here."

Hana and Tak followed her outside, only to find the princess was already outside as well. The young girl was standing in front of Talon, stretched to her full height and staring up at the taller man with a piercing glare. She was gripping at her shoulder so tightly that the hand that held it was beginning to turn pale from lack of blood. "I demand my horse back immediately," Zelda stated, not even a hint that she was in pain in her voice.

"Now hold on, young lady, it's getting dark out and that means danger!" Talon argued.

Zelda cast him an incredulous look. "Young lady? Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Uh..." Talon scratched at the back of his head awkwardly. "A visitor? One of Malon's friends?"

"You can't be serious!"

Hana stepped closer to the other Hylian. "Zelda? Talon's right, you should wait for tomorrow before you travel anymore. Your shoulder still needs to heal, anyway."

"I need to get to the forest," Zelda said, turning her commanding blue eyes onto Hana.

"Why the forest?"

"Because that's where Impa agreed to meet before we were split up by a troop of Stalfos. If I'm not there as soon as possible she'll think something terrible's happened, and we do not want a panicked Sheikah on our hands believe me."

Suddenly Ingo came charging towards them from outside the ranch. "We've got a problem, folks! Big problem! There's a whole bunch of Lizalfos out there on the field. I think they're a search patrol or something, and they're heading straight for here!"

"We're out of time," Zelda said urgently. "If I go this ranch will be safe."

Malon looked between the princess and Ingo. "You can't go by yourself, Milady!"

Ingo raised his hands quickly. "Don't look at me, I'm not going with her!"

Hana listened to Malon and Ingo as they began to argue before interrupting the pair. "I'll go with her."

Standing next to her, Tak began to splutter in surprise as everyone else just gawked at her.

Finally Zelda spoke up, "I appreciate the sentiment, but I will not risk anyone else's life but my own on this journey."

"Well, too bad, because I'm going anyway," Hana retorted, nodding to Malon to get some horses ready.

Tak finally recovered long enough to nod. "I'm coming, too, Your Highness!"

"Tak," Hana began, but the boy quickly silenced her.

"I always wanted to see the forest!"

"You're all nuts!" Ingo shouted. "You'll be killed before you even reach the right road!"

Malon returned with two horses hitched to a wagon. "You can take this and just say you're delivering supplies to the village. Of course, that excuse will only work until you turn south, but it will hopefully get you past any patrols you run into. Plus, this way, the princess can stay hidden."

"And what of my own horse?" Zelda asked.

"We'll take good care of her until it's safe for someone to send her to you, I promise."

Hana climbed into the driver's seat of the wagon and gripped the horse's reigns tightly. "We gotta get moving now, guys," she said quickly.

Tak joined Hana on the driver's seat while Zelda climbed into the back. The cover was dropped, and soon the inside of the cart was completely concealed.

"You sure about this?" Tak asked as Hana gave the reigns a shake.

"Yep."

The cart started forward with a lurch, and soon they were moving away from the ranch. The first few of the night's stars were beginning to appear, and the large moon illuminated their path almost as well as the sun would have. In the near distance, they could just make out the dim lights of torches grouped together and slowly moving towards the ranch. With shaking hands, Hana quickly urged the horses to move faster.

Zelda poked her head out from under the tarp and looked at the pair before focusing on Hana. "Follow the road to the village for as long as possible, it'll look less suspicious."

Tak reached over and pushed the girl back in the cart. "Would you stay hidden?"

"I'm just trying to help," came the muffled, yet clearly irritated, voice of the princess from her hiding spot.

"We got this covered, don't worry," Hana said, trying to keep her voice confident.

Tak leaned closer to her so he could lower his voice. "That one patrol is getting closer," he said.

Hana glanced to her side. "I know, they'll catch up in a few minutes."

Her prediction turned out to be correct, and in just a few minutes a small group of the lizard-like humanoid creatures known as Lizalfos were standing in front of them, blocking the horses from moving any further.

"Whatcha doin'?" one of the Lizalfos asked over the horses' nervous snorting.

"Delivering supplies to Kakariko Village," Hana answered, hoping they didn't hear the slight quaver in her voice.

"Supplies?" the Lizalfos smacked his lips. "You mean milk, dontcha?"

Hana hesitated; that was what the ranch usually delivered, right? Finally she nodded weakly.

The Lizalfos narrowed his eyes suspiciously before turning to two others in his patrol. "Check it." He turned back to Hana and Tak, a glare wrinkling his snout. "There better be just milk in there."

The three shared a staring contest for a moment. Resisting the urge to drop her eyes and look away from the beady yellow ones, Hana took a deep breath to steady her voice. "That's what you'll find; we're loyal subjects of King Ganondorf."

The Lizalfos snorted before marching to the back of the wagon along with the rest of his patrol. Tak leaned closer; "Did Malon put any milk in there?"

"How should I know?" Hana hissed back.

They waited with bated breath as they heard the tarp being pulled back. There were a few pleased grunts from the lizard creatures, but they heard nothing from Zelda. Finally the patrol came back into view, lugging large jars of milk along with them.

"Right then, in the name of His Majesty, the great and powerful Gannondorf, we shall be confiscating these for... inspection," the Lizalfos said eagerly.

The pair watched in shock as the patrol left; they glanced at each other and then whirled around to peer inside the wagon. The inside was completely empty, save for a few splashes of milk that had puddled on the wooden floor.

"Well where'd she go?" Tak asked.

"Oh Goddesses," Hana breathed out. "She hid in one of the milk jars."

* * *

**Dun dun dun! Epic cliffhanger of epic proportions! Or not... anyway, check back Friday to see what happens next! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**So someone asked me in a PM what the exact ages of these characters were supposed to be and I realized that others may have the same question, so I thought I'd answer here (I've decided not to post your name here, PM person; since you asked in a PM I assumed that you wanted to remain anonymous, but if I'm wrong about that then just let me know and I'll stick your name here). I myself sort of intended them to be close to Link's age; now since the game never really specifies what his age actually is, it's up to the individual reader to make up an age that they're happy with. So, short answer: just go with whatever age you like!**

* * *

Chapter V

In which the protagonists attempt a rescue...

"Well what do we do now? I mean, they're going to start drinking all that milk, and eventually they're going to find Zelda." Tak wrung his hands together nervously while Hana paced in front of him. "Who hides in a milk jar, anyway? That's just stupid."

The horses were standing nearby, still hitched to the wagon and happily chewing on some grass, completely oblivious to the tensed children next to them.

Hana glanced in the direction the patrol had left and stopped her pacing. "We need to go after them."

"Are you kidding!?"

"Well what else are we supposed to do? We promised we'd help her get to the forest."

"Yes, and if you'll recall, I didn't care much for that idea at all."

Hana shot Tak a glare. "Then don't come, guard the horses or something. I'll find her on my own."

Tak stared after her as Hana began to storm off. He glanced back towards the horses, who stared back at him with curious eyes, before he ran after her. "Hana, wait up!"

Hana slowed long enough for her friend to catch up before continuing her rapid pace. After a few minutes she was forced to slow again as Tak fell behind.

"How'd you get to be so fast?" Tak asked from behind, breathing heavily.

Hana just shrugged. She supposed that she had always been fast; perhaps spending her earlier days chasing Yorick around when she had been younger had been more beneficial than she had first thought it would ever be.

"So, have you thought of what we're going to do when we catch up to that patrol? We can't just storm in and demand our milk back; I mean, it's not a very farmer thing to do, is it?"

Hana bit her lip. She hadn't really considered what they would do when they caught up.

"You didn't think that far ahead, did you?" Tak demanded.

"I am! I just... nothing's come to me yet," she admitted.

"Well isn't that just ducky. We are so dead."

"We are not. I'll think of something!"

Several minutes passed in silence, and soon they were nearing the top of a long hill. Below them lay a small campsite that the patrol had set up. The two Hylians quickly dropped to the ground and were instantly swallowed by the meadow's long grass. Peering out from their dry, prickly surroundings, the two spotted the patrol members themselves. Every Lizalfos was gathered around a large campfire, and the large jugs of milk were nearby. They had already worked their way through two of the jugs, and a few were beginning to drag another towards the group.

"So... what's the plan, Hana?" Tak whispered, he voice so low that even Hana had trouble hearing him despite the fact that she was right next to him.

"Well, we obviously need to get to those jars," Hana said slowly, surveying the campsite carefully.

Tak slowly nodded and waited for more from Hana. He frowned when she didn't say anything else. "Great plan, boss."

"Shut up, I'm thinking."

"Listen, I have a sort of idea; I mean, it might be dumb, but it could work."

"Let's hear it," Hana said quickly, relieved.

"Ok, listen, I'll sneak around to the front of the camp and distract them-"

"How are you going to do that?"

"Um... would you listen to the whole thing before you start poking holes!? Now, I'll distract them, and then you find which jar Zelda is in. Now there may not be enough time to actually get her out of the jar, but you can just grab it and run it back to the horses since you're so fast!"

Hana raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to carry her?"

"No? Oh right, well, how about this; we meet up back here, and then I'll carry her since I'm stronger, and then you run _us_ back to the horses."

"That just means I'll have to carry the both of you!"

Tak quickly hushed her. "Look, just find her and bring her back to the horses. I'll catch up later."

Hana considered the plan for a moment before shaking her head. "No good. We're swapping roles: I'll be the distraction, since I'm faster, and you find Zelda, get to the cart, and start going to the forest right away. I'll catch up."

"How are you going to distract them?" Tak asked.

Hana grinned. "I was thinking of running in, insulting Gannondorf, and then running out."

Tak opened his mouth to protest but then changed his mind when he saw the determined expression on his friend's face. "It certainly sounds effective," he said weakly.

"Let's get a move on then!"

They began to crawl in opposite directions, one heading towards the front of the camp and the other heading towards the jars of milk. Hana had a longer way to go, and so by the time she arrived she decided to wait only a few seconds to prepare herself, since Tak should have been in his position by then. It felt like a good plan, and she had felt sure of herself when they had been discussing it all the way up in the safety of that hill, but now she was right next to the camp; she could feel the heat from their fires, and hear the guttural laughters of the Lizalfos that were alarmingly close to her, and suddenly she didn't feel quite so confident.

"Come on, Hana, get it together," Hana hissed to herself. She took a deep breath and then leaped up from the safety of the grass and into the view of the Lizalfos.

"Gan..." Hana felt her voice catch in her throat as several pairs of beady, yellow eyes all glared at her.

"Ain't that that farmer?" one of them asked curiously.

"Gan..."

"She's trying to speak!" another laughed. "Silly little girl!"

Hana felt her pupils narrow and her face became flushed; anger washed through her veins and she found the obstacle that had been previously blocking her voice was now gone. "Gannondorf is a false king!"

The Lizalfos hissed at her and several pulled out swords; the others retrieved their bows from the ground nearby. "You're in trouble for that, Hylian," one of the Lizalfos spat, as if the word Hylian was an obscenity.

"Bring it on, idiots!" Hana shouted before racing off. She could hear the pounding of the Lizalfos feet hitting against the ground behind her. The wind swept at her skirt and hair, and loose strands of grass and clumps of dirt threatened to cause her to slip. Her chest ached from her heart pounding against it, and sweat poured down her back even though the night air was cool. She tried to tell herself to just imagine Yorick was in front of her again, daring her to catch him, but it was a hard thing to picture when she was currently fleeing for her life.

The sounds of the Lizalfos were getting closer, and Hana realized with a start that they were much faster than she had assumed they would be. Her muscles strained to go faster as she pushed herself to keep moving. Arrows flew past her, barely missing her and forcing her to start twisting her path into a pattern of random turns and leaps so as to make her a harder target to hit. She recalled the way Yorick had avoided her for so long and tried her best to copy his method of dodging around.

This new way of running served her in an even better purpose than helping her to avoid arrows; the more she weaved about the field, the more the Lizalfos fell behind as they tried to keep up with her sharp turns. Finally their footsteps were all but gone; far behind her she could hear their angry shouts. She allowed herself to slow down. Panting heavily, she finally came to a stop and breathed out a relieved laugh. Turning towards the direction of the forest, Hana began to walk at a casual pace.

"Halt, Hylian!"

The rough voice of a Lizalfos nearly made her trip over her own feet. Turning around sharply, Hana spotted the lizard-like shape of the Lizalfos not too far off. He was close enough to easily hit her with his bow, and sure enough he had a sharp arrow notched and pointing straight at her.

Hana raised her arms as a show of surrender, her arms shaking as she held them above her head.

"Apologize for your remarks on your great king, and I may just let you go," the Lizalfos hissed.

It was a simple enough request; Hana found lying to be quite an easy feat for her, and it would be no problem for her to say that she was sorry and make the Lizalfos believe she was sincere. She had done it before. But now, no matter how hard she tried to make her mouth obey, she found that she couldn't do it. Instead, she heard herself say something completely different. "You can go to hell, minion." A surge of relief flooded through her; it was nice to finally say what she had been holding back for a full year on the creatures that had taken over her lands.

The Lizalfos fired his bow, and the arrow cut swiftly through the air towards her.

* * *

**Bum bum BUM! Yes, another cliffhanger! Gwahahaha, etc etc. And, since no one's tried to guess yet, I****'ll just tell you where I got the name Yorick from. It is, in fact, from Shakespeare's play, _Hamlet_. I thought it'd be a cute name for a chicken :-D**

**So, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have any complaints or comments please do let me know! This is my first attempt at a more serious fic, so any critiques would be greatly appreciated!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter VI

In which the protagonists meet new friends...

The arrow was of the same style that had been stuck in Zelda's shoulder earlier. Hana could easily recognize the sharp spikes as they glinted off of the moonlight. She knew that, in just a moment, that arrow would hit her and end her life; she also knew that, the closer it came to her, the more confident she felt. Confident about what, she wasn't really sure. All she knew was that she wasn't afraid at all, and she felt no instinct to move or get out of the way.

The arrow was upon her then, and just as it was about to pierce her skin a strong gust of wind hit the meadow. The grass was laid flat, the Lizalfos had to take a few awkward, sideways steps to balance himself, and the arrow was sent flying away from the Hylian. Hana herself was unaffected by this wind; it had gone around her just as the wind bent around rocks without pushing them a single inch.

The large shadow of a bird flew over her, but she barely noticed it as she realized that she was still in danger. The Lizalfos was still alive, and quickly recovering from the sudden gust of wind. Suddenly all her old emotions came crashing down on her; gone was the unnatural feeling of confidence, replaced by the familiar rush of adrenaline and fear. She began to run again, the Lizalfos close behind her.

The Lizalfos was closing in, and Hana knew she was running slower than before. Exhaustion was beginning to replace any sense of urgency to escape she had left. Then something pulled at her shoe, and in the next moment rocks and dirt met her view as she tumbled towards the ground. She froze, waiting for the Lizalfos to grab her. When it didn't, she found herself slowly rolling around, looking for the creature. The Lizalfos had, apparently, lost sight of her when she had fallen. The long grass and the darkness of the night was helping to hide her.

Grateful for the short reprieve, but knowing it would not last forever, Hana glanced down to see what had tripped her. There, stuck to the leather of her shoe, was the arrow that had threatened to kill her just a few minutes ago. She pulled it loose, and gripped her only weapon tightly.

The Lizalfos had recovered from his initial shock of seeing the girl suddenly disappear and it began to swipe at the long grass with his bow, the tips of which had small blades attached. Hana waited, watching the Lizalfos come closer to her hiding spot. Then it was upon her, and she forced herself to move; the hasty plan she had made for herself acted as her only guide, and she knew that if what she was doing did not work then she wouldn't be alive in a few seconds.

As the bow's blades swept at the grass, she ducked under it and then stood up, thrusting her arrow at the lizard creature with all her might. She heard it scream and felt her fingers become slick with a warm, liquid substance, but didn't stop to see if she had fatally wounded it or not. Leaping back, Hana quickly raced away; a burst of energy giving her all the speed she needed to escape towards the forest. The night grew darker, and soon the sounds of the Stalchildren reached her ears; they laughed and their bones would clack together every so often, but they were unable to catch up to her and soon gave up.

By the time she arrived at the forest the moon was high above her and was quickly blocked by the thick layer of leaves sprouting from nearby trees. Hana navigated around these large, old plants until she finally spotted a road of sorts that led deeper into the woods. She was relieved to spot the deep ruts left behind by a cart that had recently passed. Tak and Zelda were already there.

Soon the moon had completely disappeared, and the only light around her came from the small woodland fairies and other such creatures. She continued to follow the path, eventually crossing a swinging, wooden bridge and finding herself in a cleared area. At first she didn't realize that she had reached Kokiri Village; the buildings of the Kokiri children were carved from old tree stumps, or even nestled up high in the branches above, and so for a few moments Hana thought that she was still outside the village somewhere. It was the excited voice of Tak that made her realize her location and notice that some of the stumps around her had windows from which homely lights glowed.

"Hana! You made it!" Tak came rushing out from a nearby tree stump and pulled her into a tight hug. "We thought you were killed or something! Those Lizalfos looked fast."

"I'm fine, what about you?"

"Not a scratch!" Tak said proudly, pulling away from Hana. "Zelda's fine, too, she's inside. Oh, but Hana, look! You've got blood on your hand!"

Hana had forgotten about her hand; by now the Lizalfos blood had dried into a thin crust that was easy to wipe off on the grass. "It's not mine," Hana said.

"Oh... Well come and see Zelda, she was worried about you. Oh! And Impa's here! You've got to meet her, Hana, she's this awesome old person!" Tak continued to chatter away about Impa as he pulled Hana inside.

The first thing that met Hana's eyes was a Kokiri; she was clothed entirely in green and had a small fairy circling her head, but what really attracted Hana's attention was the fact that this girl had green hair. Hana had never in her life seen someone with hair like grass, and she found herself mesmerized by it.

"Hey, Granny, I told you Hana would make it!"

The voice of Tak brought Hana's attention to the others in the room. Zelda was there, much to Hana's relief, although she was out of her muddy dress and was currently wearing a Kokiri's outfit. Her hair also had a light sheen to it, which must have come from sitting in milk for so long. Then there was an older woman, and although she did have grey hair she was well muscled and looked as if she would have no problem taking on an entire patrol of Lizalfos all by herself. She also didn't seem too pleased with the new nickname that Tak had dubbed her with, as she was currently staring at Tak with a glare on her thin face.

"Hana, thank the goddesses you're alright!" Zelda said, standing up from the bed she had been sitting on.

Impa turned her attention to Hana, and the young girl found herself growing increasingly uncomfortable under all the stares.

"It was a piece of cake," Hana finally blurted out, feeling that she should say something.

Impa barked out a short laugh. "You don't look it, but you certainly have spirit."

"Um... thank you?"

Zelda cleared her throat. "You two should get back to your village as soon as you can. This is Saria." Here Zelda paused to nod towards the Kokiri with green hair. "She can give you all a place to sleep for the night and then show you a short cut through the forest that'll take you to Kakariko Village faster."

Saria smiled. "Welcome to Kokiri Village, Hana. It's very nice to meet you."

"Hana," Tak whispered. "She knew Link!"

Saria's smile dropped; apparently she had heard Tak, not that he had been particularly quiet. "I did. Though I would not mention his name here, our leader does not care much for Link and has spread his mistrust amongst the others."

"What was he like?" Hana asked curiously.

"He was..." Saria hesitated. "He is kind," she finished with a smile.

"Doesn't sound very heroic to me," Tak grumbled. Hana nudged him with her elbow and he was silent.

"Anyway," Saria began. "You can stay here for the night, this is my house and you are most welcome."

"Isn't Zelda and Impa staying here though?" Hana asked, glancing toward the pair.

"We're leaving," Impa said shortly. "It's dangerous for us to stay still when there's so many patrols out. We're cutting through the forest towards the lake."

"Is there anything we can do to help?"

Zelda smiled. "You two have done enough already; more than we could ever ask for."

Tak crossed his arms. "Aw man, we do all this work and now we're just supposed to go home? I mean, talk about a disappointment, you know?"

Impa raised an eyebrow at him. "If you want to help the princess, then you could always-" before she could finish her suggestion, Zelda cut her off.

"We will find a way there ourselves, Impa."

"But, Princess Zelda, they have easy access."

"No. Now stop."

Hana and Tak glanced at each other. "Easy access to where?" they both asked.

Zelda glared at Impa, and any other person would have been instantly silenced by the icy look, but Impa appeared immune to the princess' expression. "Death Mountain. We have been searching for allies for some time now, but it hasn't been easy to get to anyone who might join us. We've tried several times to reach the Gorons, but every time we've been cut off by Ganondorf's patrols."

"We can do that!" Hana said hurriedly. "We can talk to the Gorons for you."

Zelda sighed. "If you're seen going up there, even if it's just by a curious villager, Ganondorf might hear of it. Then we cannot protect you."

Tak grinned. "Sounds like fun!"

"Fun?" Zelda asked weakly while Impa just chuckled. "Impa, please, they really are just children."

Hana met Zelda's gaze evenly. "My father was killed by Ganondorf's minions during the initial attack on Hyrule Castle. If there's anything I can do to help bring back what he died to protect, then I will."

The room was silent until Saria broke it with her gentle voice. "A good response."

Impa nodded. "Indeed."

Finally Zelda nodded as well. "Very well; thank you. Report to Saria if you get any results from the Gorons."

Tak leaped into the air excitedly. "Awesome! We're on a sort of secret mission type thing! I mean, that sort of makes us like secret agents, doesn't it?"

Hana groaned inwardly. So much for not giving off the impression that they were still just kids.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 has arrived! Hooray! {cue chirping crickets} **

* * *

Chapter VII

In which Zelda gains an ally...

The trip through the forest towards Kakariko Village was uneventful, save for a humorous escapade that Hana had dubbed "The Battle Between Tak and the Evil, Devious Chipmunk". Said chipmunk had fallen from a tree and had ended up landing on Tak. As the young boy had ran around the forest in a panic, the small rodent had clung to him for dear life. Eventually Saria removed the chipmunk and sent it on its way, but Hana was determined to make sure Tak didn't forget about his previous panicking anytime soon.

Finally the trees began to thin, and Saria pointed to a particularly bright area of the forest where the branches were separated enough to allow plenty of sunlight. "Keep going that way, it will take you to you village."

"Thanks, Saria," Hana said around the same time that Tak had shouted "Right-o!" and had gone racing off before any more chipmunks attacked him.

"Good luck to you, Hana," Saria said before she disappeared behind some thick foliage.

It didn't take Hana long to catch up to Tak; he was standing in Hyrule field, his face directed to the sun and his eyes closed. "Sunlight!" he shouted cheerfully as Hana approached. "Oh how I've missed thee!"

Hana snorted. "Drama queen." She had to admit though, the sunlight did feel nice. The field around them was completely empty of other people, and there was not a cloud in the sky. Kakariko Village was just in sight, and in a few hours time they were safely walking up the stairs.

They were instantly greeted by several of the villagers. The loudest of the group was the twins, who had had nothing to talk about until now.

"Look, they're back!"

"My my, their mothers will be furious!"

"I wouldn't be surprised if we never see you two again! And after we were so worried that we'd never see you again, too!"

"Such a shame!"

Hana rolled her eyes. "Nice to see you two again, too."

"And she's got an attitude now!" both twins shouted at once.

Tak suddenly went speeding off towards the graveyard. "I'm gonna visit Dampe before we visit the Gorons!"

"What?" Hana shouted after him. "Tak, we don't have time! We have to go before-"

Another, familiar voice interrupted her. "Before what?" it asked sharply.

Hana winced and then slowly turned around. "Oh... hi Mom... I'm back!"

* * *

"Do you have any idea? Any idea how terrified I was when you didn't come home last night? I thought you had died!"

"I'm really sorry, but something came up!"

"Something came up? What? For goodness' sake, Hana, what could have possibly held you out all night?"

Hana leaned over the table where she was sitting so she was nearer to her mother. "Princess Zelda is here," she whispered.

"What? What nonsense is that?"

"It's true. We helped her get to safety."

"Hana, watch your tongue. If someone were to hear you!"

"Mom, I'm sorry, but I need to go."

"Go? Where? You just got back!"

"It's safer if you don't know..."

"Safer for whom, exactly? Hana, you're just a child, what has Zelda asked you to do!?"

"Keep your voice down!" Hana hissed. "And while I may still be young, Zelda asked me to do this. It's perfectly safe, I promise."

Her mother raised an eyebrow, and Hana knew that the conversation was over. She knew that look rather well, she had seen it a thousand times before and it always ended with her being grounded. A few minutes later, Hana found herself sitting on her bed, her arms crossed and glowering at her parent, who was busy at the kitchen and grumbling under her breath.

"Mom," Hana tried again, but the older woman seemed to be quite content to just ignore her daughter. Sighing, Hana realized she would have to wait for nightfall. The hours crept by, but finally everyone in her household was asleep. Carefully, she slipped out of bed and out the door, tightly closing it behind her.

"What took you so long?" Tak asked, startling Hana and nearly causing her to slam against the house in her surprise.

"I got grounded. What about you?"

"You got grounded? Really? My mom said I could go."

"You told her where we're going?" Hana asked as the two set off for the trail that led up the mountain.

"Well, sort of. I mean, I kind of just said we were going ghost hunting again."

"Maybe I should try that next time," Hana grumbled bitterly. "Well, here's the trail. Ready?"

Tak nodded, and so they set off. Their progress up was slow; the darkness kept them from moving too quickly for fear of tripping, especially once they got higher up and were able to see the village far below them.

"Not scared of heights, are you?" Hana asked teasingly as they inched closer to the mountainous wall along the narrow path.

"Please don't mention height to me right now," Tak said, his eyes pointedly fixed on the ground.

Hana held back her laughter and continued to lead the way. Finally, just as the sun had climbed high enough for them to see the path better, the Goron city came into view. The trail ahead widened considerably, enough for them to walk side by side without having to worry about one of them falling.

"Wow!" Tak exclaimed as they entered. "How do you suppose they built this place?"

Hana remained silent as she stared in awe at the city. Somehow, the Gorons had hollowed out a good portion of the mountain. Pathways and buildings were carved into the walls in a spiral pattern that led to the very bottom. The pair leaned over the edge to see the bottom and spotted a group of Gorons meandering aimlessly about.

"Look down there, that room's got a fancy door _and_ a rug," Hana said, pointing out a sealed room that was at the bottom. "Think the Goron leader is in there?"

Tak shrugged. "Worth a try."

Avoiding several Gorons that were rolling down the paths along with them, Hana and Tak quickly made their down.

"Hello?" Tak shouted as soon as they reached the door. He reached out and knocked heavily on the stone. "We need to talk to you."

Hana glanced around and noticed that all the Gorons were now staring at them. "Um... is your leader anywhere around here?"

A particularly large Goron, who towered over all the others, stepped forward and bent over to get a better look at the visitors. "You look a bit like our brother who came here last year!" he commented cheerfully.

The others all began to nod. "We thought you looked familiar!" a few said.

Hana and Tak exchanged confused glances before gazing up towards the Goron. "Who?" Hana asked

"Link, the Dodongo buster!" the large Goron bellowed, his deep voice echoing throughout the cavern. "I thought you were him, at first, but you're a bit taller... and he's a bit shorter."

"Hey!" Tak protested.

"Sorry, friend! It's hard to tell you Hylians apart, you all look alike you know."

Hana cleared her throat. "Sorry, but this is important. Are you the Goron leader?"

"Me? No! They call me Hot Rodder! All stand in awe at my wild rolling!"

"Then... Hot Rodder, can we see your leader? We're here at the request of Princess Zelda."

The door behind them shook, as if reacting to Hana's words. Then, slowly, it began to climb up into a groove in the ceiling.

"There you go," Hot Rodder said. "Looks like Darunia wants to see you, too! Go on in!"

Before the Hylians could take a step into the brightly lit room, another shadow fell over them. The glanced up to see a much older looking Goron with spiky hair and beard glowering down at them. "What's this you say about Princess Zelda?" he asked, his voice making the walls around them rumble slightly.

"We..." Hana began nervously. "She needs allies. We were hoping you would-"

"Allies?" Here all the Gorons burst into laughter, and the entire mountain felt like it would collapse on them at any moment as it shook with their deep chuckles.

The Goron leader raised a hand, and all the Gorons quickly ceased their laughter. "You Hylians must not talk to each other much. I am Darunia; I am sworn brother to the King of Hyrule! If his kin needs aid, then we will gladly give it!" He turned his attention to the other Gorons. "Light up the forges! Prepare armor! We need to be ready when Zelda is!" He knelt down so he was at the same height as Hana and Tak. "Ganondorf will fall hearing Goron drums and seeing our great swords flashing in the sky."

Daruna said this not as a promise, or as a command; instead, he mentioned it in a conversational tone, as if it were only a matter of time before what he said came to be true.

* * *

**As usual, thanks for reading! Next week, the Knights of Hyrule are officially formed so stay tuned!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Omg, I just saw the Bourne Legacy yesterday, and it was awesome! Driving home, I had to resist the urge to drive like a maniac because the movie was just so exciting! Anyway, on with the story. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter VIII

In which the protagonists make a decision...

The mountain rang with the sounds of weapons and armor being forged. Hana found herself having to fight the urge to cover her ears to protect them from the constant, rhythmic beating of metal on metal.

"What a healthy sound, don't you think?" Darunia said happily as they walked up the city's paths towards the top. His voice, while low, still rumbled over the loud din and the others had no difficulty in hearing him.

"It's a bit loud," Tak shouted.

Darunia laughed. "Back when I was younger, and my father was still chief, this mountain shook from our forges every night! It is like a lullaby to me."

Hana smiled at the thought, but then quickly winced as they passed the room that held the forges. They climbed up another level and then stopped in front of a dark passageway.

"Here we go, this secret tunnel will lead you back to the forest. You wanted to talk to Saria right?"

"Yes, thank you," Hana said.

"Wait just a minute now!" Tak shouted. "There was a secret tunnel connecting the forest and this city the whole time!? Why didn't Saria just send us through here?"

Darunia shrugged. "Maybe she doesn't know about it? Oh, no wait! We had to seal it again after Link opened it. See, some of the little people wandered in here, and they don't like places with no trees or plants. They get sick without them. So we had to block it with these rocks there." Darunia pointed to some large boulders. He took a few steps forward and with a few powerful punches crumbled the rocks as if they bread. "There you go!"

"Wow," Tak said, his jaw agape. "You guys are going to be some army!"

"Come on, Tak, we need to tell Saria the good news!"

"We will keep the tunnel open from now on for you, Hylians!" Darunia shouted after them as they raced through the passage.

The tunnel wasn't very well lit, and so the two had to stumble around blindly for most of the time they were in it. Soon the ground under them began to tilt so that they were marching downwards at such a fast rate that they nearly ended up slipping and sliding down several times. By the time the ground leveled off, the exit was in clear view. Light poured from the forest, and the distant sounds of birds could be heard.

Saria was waiting for them with a smile on her face. "I thought they would open the tunnel for you."

"We've got good news," Tak announced. "The Gorons have agreed to help Zelda out!"

"Good news indeed. The world is in sore need of it, but unfortunately we can't reveal this to it just yet. Should Ganondorf hear of the Goron's resistance before they are ready, he will crush them."

Hana nodded in agreement. "Darunia said it would take a few years before they have enough armor and weapons for everyone. They need to sneak around Ganondorf's forces, so they're working with limited supplies. But, he also said that they don't really need the weapons, so if Zelda needs them earlier then they'll be ready."

"I feel that Zelda will need the time herself. Planning a rebellion is not an easy task. I will get the news to Zelda, thank you for your help."

"What should we do next?" Tak asked, eager for another mission.

Saria shrugged. "You should probably return home. You have done quite a bit, as I am sure Zelda would say."

Hana and Tak's faces fell. "There has to be something else we can do!" Hana argued. "Zelda needs all the help she can get."

Saria tilted her head at them curiously. "Have you ever heard the tales of the Hylian Knights?" She seemed surprised when they shook their heads. "The Great Deku Tree used to tell me their story, and you remind me very much of them."

"They sound awesome," Tak said. "Where are they?"

"Long gone now. According to the Great Deku Tree, the Hylian Knights used to live in a great city in the sky; they would ride magnificent birds that were able to fly from one end of Hyrule to the other in less than a day. It was they who first discovered these great lands, and it was they who forged Hyrule."

"So what happened to them?" Hana asked curiously while Tak silently scoffed over the idea of riding birds.

"Lack of a need for them sent them to their end. Eventually, Hyrule was in a state of peace for so long, that the Knights disbanded. Those remaining few, the last of the Knights, lived in Hyrule until they died of old age, and then there were no more."

Silence took over for a moment, even the birds stilled; it was as if the whole forest was in a silent salute to the fallen warriors.

Saria took a breath and broke the silence. "I feel that there is no greater need for the return of the Hylian Knights than now." She looked at the two with solemn eyes. "But who would dare to openly oppose Ganondorf? Who would dare take up the title of knight, the title of defender of the royal family and Hyrule, now?" After that, Saria left, barely making a sound as she disappeared into the forest.

"Knights of Hyrule," Hana breathed out. "Sounds impressive."

"Hana, we could do that!" Tak said excitedly.

"Are you insane? We aren't knights! We don't even know how to really fight!"

"But you heard Saria, who else is going to do it? Everyone else is too afraid of him, but we took on a whole patrol just to get Zelda, and you pretty much renounced Ganondorf right then and there!"

"But-"

"And, someone needs to do it. I mean, the army's dead, most of the guards are dead, so if not us then who?"

"Ok, look, even if we were to do this, who would be in charge? You would need a captain, and no one would take us seriously. Zelda's right, we just need to lay low and wait for Link to get back. Then we'll have the Goron's army, and Impa, and everyone will know what to do."

"Hana." Tak's voice was suddenly quite serious, and Hana quickly stopped rambling. "Hana, I met Link."

"What?"

"I met him. He was kinda tall, blond hair, blue eyes, silly green hat and tunic, right?"

Hana nodded dumbly. "Why didn't you say you saw him?! All this time I was wondering if he was even alive!"

"Well, I mean, it was before you came to the village, before the siege of the castle. He came by, gave me this awesome mask."

"I thought you said your dad gave you a mask."

"Well..." suddenly Tak looked incredibly guilty. "He did. But that was after Link gave me the other one, and back then I thought Link's was way cooler; I mean, it was this really spooky looking thing, and Dad's was just... a stupid fox. That's what I told him, too. On my birthday. It was pretty much the last thing I said to him before he got called to Hyrule Castle Town."

Hana could see Tak was struggling to hold back tears; she knew she should probably say something, but she had no idea what. "You were just a kid," she blurted out finally.

Tak scowled. "I'm tired of that excuse. My dad died thinking I hated him, and it's not fair!" He shouted his last few words, startling a flock of birds from the trees.

Hana's shoulders slumped. "You're right. It's not fair. Ganondorf took so much from us." She met his eyes. "Let's do it."

"Do what?"

"Become the Knights of Hyrule."

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's chapter nine! I would like to send a big big thanks to Soul Engineer (awesome name, by the way!) for leaving a review! I'm glad you find the characters likable so far; whenever I write something serious my biggest fear is always that I'm not writing the characters well enough that others will like them, so that was a relief to hear!**

**Anyways, here's the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter IX

In which the protagonists begin to form their company...

Tak suddenly grinned, and all sadness and guilt in his expression melted. "You're serious, aren't you? You really want to bring back the Hylian Knights?"

Hana nodded with a smile. "Sure, why not. I don't have anything better to do, do you?"

Tak began to bounce on the balls of his feet in his excitement. "We need more people, it can't just be us two. And we'll need a captain!"

Both Hana and Tak quickly pointed to each other.

"What?" Hana snapped at him as they lowered their arms. "I can't be captain!"

"Why not?"

"It was your idea!"

"Actually, technically it was Saria's. Maybe we should ask her to be captain?" Tak asked sarcastically. "Besides, you took on a whole patrol of Lizalfos on your own, and even killed one! Or, at least, seriously injured one."

"But..." Hana drifted off, desperately searching for an excuse that sounded reasonable. "I'm a girl, and no one would take me seriously as captain!" She felt ridiculous just saying it, but it sounded like a fairly rational argument. By Tak's expression, however, she could tell he wasn't buying it.

"Oh don't try to play the girl card now. If you wanted me to take that seriously you should've said no to ghost hunting on day one! Besides, you're better at giving orders." He cringed under her glare. "I mean, I'm not saying you're bossy or anything, just that... you know... you're good at giving orders..."

"I am not bossy! Oh just shut up and get moving already. We need to get back to the village and figure out who to recruit. We can figure out the whole captain issue later."

"Yes, ma'am," Tak said meekly before turning around and marching towards the tunnel.

A loud, high pitched scream made them both stop short.

"That came from Kokiri Village!" Hana said; they both quickly started to run through the forest, breaking past bushes and low down branches.

The screaming grew more intense the closer they got to the village, and more screams joined the first. Finally they reached the clearing and stood, panting, up on the cliff that stood over the village.

"Oh Goddesses," Hana said in horror as they gazed down at the scene below them.

Giant Deku Baba plants and Deku Scrubs were scattered about the village, attacking any Kokiri that got close enough. The immortal children themselves were running about the place in panic, a few nearly running _into_ danger in their terror.

"Get them into the houses!" Hana shouted to Tak before racing off. The sound of Tak running behind her soon followed. The pair grabbed any Kokiri that passed them and forced them to slow down before pointing them towards the safety that their buildings offered. The entire time they were forced to dodge large deku nuts that were flying through the air at a dangerously fast rate, and the Deku Babas that snapped at them with strong jaws if they strayed too close.

Hana and Tak regrouped back near the forest. "I think we got them all, but how long can they stay there?" Tak asked.

"We need to figure out a way to get them out of the village and-"

Before Hana could finish, an unfamiliar figure came running up to them from the forest. He was another Kokiri, but he didn't seem as frightened as the others had. In fact, he seemed rather angry.

"What's going on here?" the Kokiri demanded. "I leave for a walk and then this happens!"

"The village is under attack!" Tak exclaimed.

The Kokiri glowered at him. "Well I can see that, genius. I meant, what started this?"

Hana shrugged, although she had a feeling that Zelda coming here had something to do with the sudden attack.

The green clad child tore off his hat, revealing short blond hair, and wrung it in his hands. "Oh I bet this is all Link's fault! He kills the Great Deku Tree, and now we're all unprotected! This was only a matter of time!"

"And who are you, exactly?" Hana asked, curious at the boy's reaction to the current events.

"Me?" The boy quickly put his hat back on, even though it wasn't quite the same shape it had been before he had twisted it so much. "I am Mido, the leader of this village! Now, as leader, I demand you put a stop to this attack at once!"

Before either Hana or Tak could respond to the commanding little Kokiri, Saria poked her head out from between some trees. "You three, in here, now."

They quickly obeyed, and Hana could have sworn that Mido's expression suddenly became captivated by the sudden appearance of Saria, but it was back to an angry scowl by the time they had gathered under the cover of the trees.

Hana turned to face Saria. "Saria, we can get help. The Gorons are close by!"

Mido nodded eagerly. "Those mountain rock giants will clear them out for sure! Go for it, Hylian! Fix what that loser Link did."

"Wait," Saria said, raising a hand. "This is not Link's fault. This is Ganondorf's doing. He knew Zelda escaped into the forest, and has tried to catch her by placing a curse on our temple."

"Wait wait wait," Mido shouted. "Zelda? As in Princess Zelda!? What was she even doing here and why wasn't I told about that!?"

"Not now, Mido. Listen, Hana, Tak, whatever you do you cannot bring the Gorons here."

"Why not?" All three others asked at once.

"Their involvement in Zelda's plans must be kept secret. If they come here now, Ganondorf will know that they plan to resist him and he will punish them."

Mido tore his hat off again. "But what about the village!?"

"We will survive indoors until the time is right."

"Oh, well, that's just great," Mido scoffed. He stomped a few feet away and stood with his back turned to the others, muttering angrily to himself.

Hana looked at her worriedly. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. You two, however, must leave. I fear you may have been spotted already, you stand out in your Hylian clothes."

"That's alright. We were planning on letting Ganondorf know about us soon anyway," Tak said proudly.

Saria smiled. "You listened. Good. I am glad, though also concerned for you."

"We'll be fine," Hana said. "Take care of yourself."

The trio stood there for a moment longer, wondering if any of them would actually survive. Then they separated, and soon Hana and Tak were climbing back up the tunnel that led to Goron City. The familiar sounds of the Gorons' forge met their ears, and eventually they were standing back in the familiar cavern.

Hot Rodder came to great them, rolling towards them and nearly crashing into them but stopping just in time. "You're back so soon!" he said as he uncurled from his rolled up position. He looked worried when he saw their expressions. "What happened?"

"The village was attacked," Hana said quietly.

"Eh? Well we need to get over there! We need to help the little people!"

Tak quickly stopped him. "Hold on! Saria said it would be a bad idea, and I agree with her. We need to be careful about what we do right now. We need... we need strategy!"

"Hmm," Hot Rodder rubbed at his chin. "Strategy sounds complicated. Does it involve pummeling things into the ground?"

Tak stared up at him. "No, not really."

"Then I'm not interested in finding strategy. But, I'll trust you to take care of that bit. Gorons and Hylians are working together now, so just let me know if you want something pummeled."

He was beginning to curl back into a ball to continue his wild rolling when Hana suddenly reached out to stop him for a second time. "Wait a minute! How would you like to become a Knight of Hyrule?"

The Goron sat up again and looked at her curiously. "I'm not sure... does that involve pummeling things into the ground?"

Hana and Tak glanced at eachother before she answered. "Absolutely."

"Then count me in, little Hylians! I'm not good at the forge, so I need something to do anyway while the others are all busy."

"We need weapons, and armor, and maybe even-"

Tak breathed in an excited gasp. "We need a coat of arms is what we need!"

Hana looked at him incredulously. "Excuse me?"

"You know, like a symbol that everyone will be able to recognize, so that it'll be easy for us to be identified as knights!"

"I'm trying to come up with practical things and here you are talking about a silly symbol? Come on Tak, we need to think rationally here!"

"But I am! I mean, if we're just running around without a banner or anything, then people won't know we're banded together. We need a symbol, so that we put hope in the real citizens of Hyrule, and fear into those who don't belong here!"

Hot Rodder hummed approvingly. "That sounds very poetic. I second the idea of having a coat of arms."

"Oh my goodness." Hana placed a hand on her forehead. "Fine, fine, you can work on that. But if it's not done by the time I find someone to make our shields then-"

"But that's the beauty of it, Hana!" Tak said happily. "We've already got a symbol!"

"We do?"

"Haven't you ever been in the shops back home? There's a symbol of what the first Knights used. Here, I'll draw it for you." He bent over and began to draw in the dust on the ground. Hana and Hot Rodder leaned over him to get a better view. In just a few seconds the fuzzy image of the Triforce appeared, directly over what appeared to be some sort of bird creature.

"Well?" Tak said, straightening up and surveying his handiwork.

Hana smiled; the more she looked at it the more she liked it. "That'll do."

The trio began to walk down the path, straight towards the forges.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Shhh, I'm uploading this during my break, when I should be working on homework... don't tell anyone!**

* * *

Chapter X

In which the protagonists continue to forge the Knights of Hyrule...

The Goron in charge of the forges was the largest Hana or Tak had ever seen; he was much larger than their newest companion, Hot Rodder, and in fact he seemed to be stuck in the room he was in due to his massive size. Hana compared the large entranceway and the Goron and realized that the creature had probably been stuck in the forge room for quite a while.

The huge creature hummed as he considered the request they had made. "Making weapons and armor for Hot Rodder won't be a problem, but you two are so tiny. I don't know if we could make anything with our materials that wouldn't end up crushing your bones."

"Well that's not good," Tak said disappointedly. "Where are we supposed to get our stuff now?"

The Goron hummed again. "Let me see what I can do. Come back in seven years!"

"Seven years!?" Hana shouted over the forges' noise. "We can't wait that long!"

The Goron lowered his head more, so that he could get a better look at her. "You should keep in mind that you're still young, too. You're going to grow, and any armor you get now won't fit in less than a year anyway."

Hana felt her shoulders slump; the Goron was right. Even if they did manage to find someone who could make several sets of armor that would accommodate any growth spurts, they wouldn't have the money to pay for it.

"Alright then, how about just swords and shields?" she asked.

"With the symbol!" Tak added in quickly.

The Goron glanced over at the other Gorons who were all busy at their forges. "We could probably make something for you, but it will be a while before we get enough supplies; not to mention - but I will anyway - that you're planning on adding more people to your group, and we still don't know how many more. Tell you what, we've got some spare swords and shields left over from a ceremony that the Zora king had here a few decades back. You could paint over the shields, they're blank anyway."

"How many have you got?" Hana asked as the Goron twisted around and started to rummage in a pile of what she had just assumed to be scrap metal.

"Let's see... looks like there's three here. Huh, thought I had more."

"That's it?" The beginnings of a pout began to work its way onto Tak's face. "We need more soldiers than that!"

"We'll take them," Hana said quickly. "At least it's a start."

Hot Rodder nodded. "I don't even need those things, Gorons use their fists!"

"Ok, so that leaves us able to get one extra member," Tak said dryly. "We'll really show Ganondorf with those numbers."

Hana looked at him seriously. "It's a start."

"Well, little Hylians, here you go!" The giant Goron finally pulled from the pile three shields which had, just as he had said, a blank yet shiny metal surface, along with three swords. The swords were nothing like what Hana or Tak had seen before. The blades were slightly curved, and the hilt had a sweeping cage-like device wrapped around it in order to protect the hand of whoever was holding it.

"Were these common in Hyrule back then?" Hana asked, grabbing one of the swords.

The Goron shrugged. "Just for ceremonies. Zora ceremonies, to be exact. Those people like to design fancy things. But they're still functional."

"They're awesome!" Tak exclaimed happily as he swung his around. He accidentally swiped it against the back of a nearby Goron; it clanged noisily, but the Goron didn't even seem to notice. All the same, Hana gripped his arm and yanked it down to his side before he hurt anyone.

"We'll practice with them later," she said in a warning tone. The boy just grinned at her before stepping forward to get a better look at the shields.

"We can paint over these no problem," he said.

The gigantic Goron nodded. "Told you so. Now then, as soon as I can, I'll start making more for you. Let me know if you recruit more than what you have supplies for."

Hana strapped her sword's belt around her waist and swung her new shield over her back. "Let's get a move on then. Gosh these things are heavy."

"Onwards to victory!" Tak shouted, still wielding his blade as he raced out of the forge. Hot Rodder grabbed the remaining weapons before curling into a ball and rolling after him.

The trio were soon making their way down to Kakariko Village. Tak chatted away amiably about finding paint and putting their symbol on the shields. Hana just walked alongside him silently, nodding when it was required of her; her mind, however, was on other matters. Her hand drifted to the hilt of her weapon and she found her thoughts drifting towards her mother, the only living family she had left.

"I'll catch up with you guys," Hana said as soon as they reached the village.

"Sure thing," Tak said, already focused on heading towards the shops to find paint, Hot Rodder following close behind.

The closer she got to her home, the more she could feel her hands shaking. She paused at her door, long enough to take a steadying breath before entering. Her mother was there, alone, sitting at Hana's bed and looking absolutely miserable. The older woman instantly lit up when Hana stepped inside.

"Hana! Where in Hyrule were you now!? And what is that? A sword!?"

Her mother continued to blabber on, her voice sounding more tense and upset the longer she continued.

"Mom, listen," Hana said quietly. Her mother instantly became silent and stared at her with tears in her eyes.

"What are you doing, Hana?"

"Someone has to fight back," Hana said, her voice calm. "No one else is going to step up unless we do."

"That is the most ridiculous thing-"

"Dad would agree."

Her mother's mouth closed with a snap; Hana had never mentioned the deceased man since the first few days they had known he had died.

"But you can't," her mother whispered in anguish. "It's not your job."

Hana smiled gently. "I didn't come for permission, I just came to say bye for now. I'll be back before you know it!"

She couldn't stay anymore, her mother was beginning to cry and if she remained Hana knew she would be joining the older Hylian and turn into a puddle herself. Quickly slipping outside, Hana ran towards the shops, nearly tripping over a pale, scrawny looking man as she went.

"Excuse me," Hana said quickly.

"Whatever," the man said.

Hana looked at him and recognized him to be Grog, the son of the carpenters' boss. "Hey," the girl began, and Grog looked up at her with pale eyes. "I'm going to be making a speech here in a few hours, could you spread the word and get as many people to come here as you can?"

"Whatever."

Hana had no idea if that meant he would do it or not, but she didn't have time to stand around. She needed as many people to help as possible, and to do that she would need a really convincing speech.

"Hana, check it out!" Tak came running up to her, his newly painted shield in hand. Hana couldn't help the smile that worked its way onto her face. The shield looked like it had been painted by a professional; the Triforce symbol shown in the sun proudly, nearly blinding the girl as she examined Tak's handiwork. "Nice, right?"

"Very," Hana agreed.

"I did the spare we have, too. I'll just do yours next."

Hana handed Tak her shield and watched as he immediately sat down and set to work with his paints.

"What is that?" Grog asked, leaning around his tree and peering curiously at the shields. "You know they sell that same design at the shop, right?"

"Do you know how expensive those are?" Tak demanded.

Grog snorted. "What are you going to do with them, anyway?"

"We're going to be knights!"

"That's a stupid game."

Hana finally looked at him. "It's not a game. We're going to fight against Ganondorf."

"You're insane."

Tak looked up from his painting. "Says the guy who thinks everyone is disgusting."

"They are. I'll join you."

Grog's last statement was made in the same, usual, bored tone that he always had, that it took a while before the two realized what he had said.

"Are you serious?" Hana asked. "We might not live very long."

Grog nodded slowly. "Yeah. I know."

* * *

**Ok, so I mixed two swords together into one: the katana (hence the curved blade) and the rapier (hence the fancy hilt). I have no idea if this would actually be a functional sword in real life, but I thought what the hey! It sounds cool.**

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A big thanks yet again to Soul Engineer for reviewing! It would appear I've found a fellow procrastinator of homework! lol! And, if you like the idea of Grog being a knight just wait 'til you see who joins this chapter!**

* * *

Chapter XI

In which the Knights of Hyrule gain another member...

"Please, just listen! We need all the people we can get for this to be a success!" Hana shouted. The other villagers simply ignored her and wandered off, grumbling about children wasting their time. Tak, Grog, and Hot Rodder stood off to her side, silently watching as their potential teammates turned their backs on them.

"Now what?" Tak asked.

Hana scowled at the retreating figures before turning around to face her small team. Grog was examining his sword and shield with a bored expression on his face, while Hot Rodder and Tak were watching her expectedly.

"We still need to report to Zelda about the Gorons. With the forest under attack, I doubt Saria has had a chance to do that."

"Hmm," Hot Rodder breathed deeply. "Do we even know where she is?"

"Impa mentioned they were heading to Lake Hylia, probably to visit the Zoras."

Grog groaned tiredly. "We're going to _walk_ all the way there?"

"Hopefully the forest will have a shortcut. Impa and Zelda went deeper into the forest when they left, not towards the road."

"Oh yeah!" Tak said happily. "That's true! Let's go then, back to Goron City!"

In a few hours, the group was standing in the bright green Lost Woods. Even though the village was still overrun by monsters, the deeper parts of the forest were still so peaceful that it gave off a sense of safety.

"Let's look for Saria, she should know if there's a shortcut here or not," Hana said. They began to wander around the forest, making sure to avoid the village. While Hana felt terrible leaving the village helpless, for the moment Saria's warning to not tip off Ganondorf to the strength of the resistance won over the Hylian's feelings.

A familiar, angry voice soon interrupted their search. "What are you people doing here? Oh and look, you've brought _more_ people this time."

The group turned to face Mido. His small hands were placed on his hips, and he was tapping his foot impatiently. There was another Kokiri slightly behind him; her long blond hair was tied into two pigtails, and her wide blue eyes stared at them curiously.

"Adults shouldn't be here!" she said concernedly. "You'll turn into a monster."

Mido sighed impatiently. "Not now, Fado! What are you two doing back here?"

Hana stepped forward. "We're looking for a shortcut to Zora's Domain, would you happen to know-"

"Would I happen to know!?" Mido screeched. "Would _I_ happen to _know_!? I'm only the boss of the Kokiri, but don't mind me!"

Tak rolled his eyes. "Oh brother," he mumbled under his breath. Grog and Hot Rodder just stared at the explosive Kokiri with wide eyes while Fado giggled at the boy's antics.

"So... you do know?" Hana asked innocently.

"Of course I do! It's..." he started to spin around in place. "It's that way!" He finally stopped and pointed.

Fado shook her head and pointed in the opposite direction.

"Oh what do you know, Fado! I'll prove it's this way!" With that, Mido quickly went marching off. He was soon long gone, and Hana glanced over at Fado.

"That way?" Hana asked, nodding in the direction that the Kokiri girl had pointed.

Fado nodded, and was soon following them as they continued on their way. She seemed particularly interested in Grog, and soon had the teenager squirming uncomfortably under her wide eyed gaze.

"What?" he snapped, finally turning around to face her.

"You shouldn't be here. Adults-"

"Turn into monsters, yeah yeah. Like _that_ would actually happen."

* * *

In a few minute's time, they were soon standing near a narrow passageway that led underwater.

"How deep is that?" Hot Rodder asked nervously. "I can't really swim so good."

Fado shrugged. "I don't know!" she said happily. "I never tried it."

"Right," Hana said, pulling her hair back into a bun. "I'll go first and check it out. If it doesn't look like it's something you can walk out of then I'll let you know, Hot Rodder."

The Goron nodded nervously as Hana waded into the warm water. "Good luck."

Hana took a deep breath and then dove under. The others watched as she disappeared from view, a few bubbles breaking the surface being the only sign that she was still close by. Seconds ticked by, and the only sounds that broke the tense silence was that of the birds chirping overhead.

"Hey, how long can she hold her breath?" Fado asked curiously. No one got the chance to answer, as Hana finally returned. Her head splashed above the water's surface, but she didn't seem to be particularly out of breath.

"It's fine, it leads right to this huge waterfall. I didn't see Zora's Domain anywhere though."

"It's got to be there somewhere," Tak said. "This is the way Zelda went, right?"

Hana nodded, still floating in the water. "I think so. Come on, we can look around for it together. Thanks for the help, Fado."

"Anytime!"

Before Hana could dive in again, Mido came crashing through the trees. "Ahha! Here you all are!" The boy seemed to have completely forgotten that he had been trying to find the passage to the Zoras before them as he marched towards the small group. "As boss of the Kokiri, I demand that you do something about those things in my village!"

"We can't," Tak argued, sounding just as annoyed as Mido.

"What sort of knights are you then? You guys are just as useless as Link!"

Fado nodded. "Just as useless! I think I'll go with them!"

"And another thing- wait, what? Fado?! What did you say?" Mido turned sharply on his heel and glared at his friend, who simply shrugged under everyone's surprised stares.

"I have a slingshot! They don't!"

"So just give them one then, it doesn't mean you have to go. Besides, you can't. Kokiri can't leave the forest or they die, so there!"

"Link left," Fado said, her voice never losing its cheerful tone.

"Yeah... well... Link's weird! I told you before!"

"Listen," Hana said hesitantly as she climbed out of the water. "Fado, we appreciate the offer, but-"

Fado grinned. "I want to help defend my home, too! We may look like children, but we're all a lot older than all of you. Except for maybe Mr. Rock Man," Fado added, pointing to Hot Rodder.

Mido crossed his arms and began to pout. "As your boss, I command that you stay here!"

Fado looked at him, still smiling. "When have I ever actually listened to you?"

"Er... lots of times! I think..."

"Well," Tak said with a sigh. "This is quite an eclectic group of knights we're forming. Hylians, a Goron, and now a Kokiri."

Hana and Fado stared at each other for a long moment before Hana finally nodded. "An eclectic group is what we need. We're the Knights of Hyrule, all races should be involved."

Grog snorted. "Except for the Zoras, they can't leave the water for longer than a few days."

Mido's jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding! You can't let her go with you!"

"We can't stop her," Hana said. "Everyone has a right to defend their home."

"Yeah... but..."

"Don't worry Mido!" Fado said as she made sure her slingshot would be protected from the water. The small fairy that followed Fado bobbed around in the air nervously for a few seconds before deciding to hide in the girl's pocket during the swim. Fado quickly closed the pocket so the inside would stay as dry as possible and then looked back to Mido. "I'll be back before you know it!"

"But... Fado, listen, if you start to feel different, at all, if things get to be too cucco-ish out there, you come right back here, got it?"

"Will do!" Fado said as she ran to stand next to the others, who were already starting to gather near the water again.

Mido pulled his hat off and began to twist it around. "I mean it Fado! Cucco-ish!"

"Cucco-ish!" Fado agreed, and with that she leaped into the water and followed Hana as she led the way. Hot Rodder was the last to go in; he anxiously dipped a foot in to test the temperature and then began to walk into the water. Most of the liquid was pushed out due to his size; it splashed over onto the grass, forming deep, muddy puddles, but eventually he too was forced to hold his breath as his head was finally submerged.

Nobody was nearby to hear Mido as he started to talk to himself. "First the Great Deku Tree dies, then the village is attacked, and now Fado's leaving. Where in the world did I go wrong?"

* * *

**As always, thanks very much for reading!**

**By the way, for those of you who have never played Ocarina of Time, or don't remember it too well, all the side characters (meaning, people besides Hana and Tak) are google-able (well, technically, Tak is google-able, too, but his official name is "boy in graveyard"). I kept everyone else's names the same, so if you look them up on Zelda wikia or something, you could get more information on them that the people who know the game already have. As I write I'm sort of assuming that you all know these characters, which is why I don't bother with too many detailed descriptions and stuff. The reason I mention this is because I want to recommend you look up Fado and/or Grog if you aren't really sure who they are. You don't have to, of course, but it'll make the ending more dramatic for you!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter XII

In which the Knights of Hyrule encounter a pair of giant pigs...

"What a pretty waterfall!" Fado commented.

The group of five were gathered together near a large waterfall, desperately looking for the Zora's Domain or any sign of Zelda and Impa.

"Do you suppose they're behind the water?" Tak asked, trying to peer past the rapidly falling water.

Grog sighed tiredly. "This is a waste of time, man. We should go back before we're caught out here."

Hot Rodder hummed loudly. "This would be a good time to practice with your new swords. The little person and I can explore down river more and look for clues."

Fado clapped her hands together happily. "I'm glad we'll be seeing more of the outside world than just this area," she said cheerfully. "Come on, Mr. Rock Man!"

"Be careful!" Hana called after them as they carefully tiptoed along what little grass there was along the river. "He's right though, we should get some practice in."

"Right!" Tak yanked his sword out of its scabbard. "On your guard, Captain!"

Hana glared at him as she retrieved her own sword. "I told you, I'm not going to be captain!"

Grog sighed again. "You kinda already are, man. This is going to be tiring, I can tell. I think I'll just help the kid and the rock."

"Grog!" Hana shouted after him as he went lurking off after Hot Rodder and Fado. "We need to practice!"

"I'll figure it out later!" Grog called over his shoulder.

Tak watched him leave. "Is he even serious about this whole thing?"

"I have no idea," Hana said with a sigh. Then she lunged towards him, and Tak nearly dropped his shield in his haste to defend himself.

"I wasn't ready!"

"Well get ready then, slow poke!" Hana teased. "Ganondorf won't wait for you to be ready!"

Soon the sound of metal blades clashing against each other filled the valley, despite the loud waterfall nearby. It even reached the ears of Grog, Fado, and Hot Rodder, who were quite a bit below them now.

"Zelda, oh Zelda!" Fado called out in a sing song voice.

Hot Rodder quickly hushed the girl. "Not so loud, goro! You might alert the enemy!"

"Orrrrrr, I might alert Zelda," Fado said with a roll of her eyes.

"Uh," Grog began, scratching at his bald head. "How old did you say you were again?"

"Don't ask a girl her age, deku head!"

"Look, goro!" Hot Rodder suddenly stopped short, causing Fado and Grog to crash into him. The Goron barely budged, but the other two were sent sprawling to the ground. "What is that?"

"I wouldn't know," Grog snapped at him as he stood up and then helped Fado to her feet. "All I see is your huge back!"

Fado peeked around the Goron's legs and then gave a squeal of excitement. "It's a pig! A giant pig in armor, and with a spear and everything! Oh look, there's two pigs!"

"That's not good," Grog said worriedly.

"Those are Moblins!" Hot Rodder said, fear laced in his voice. "Quick, back up the river! We have to warn the others before those things see us!"

The trio quickly turned around and crept back up the hill they had just walked down. The pair of Moblins had not yet spotted them, mostly due to the fact that they generally had small eyes, and therefore couldn't see much of anything unless it walked right in front of them. Then the sound of a voice from behind them reached their ears, and the Moblins let out angry snorts.

"Did you hear that?" Grog asked. "I couldn't hear what she said, but it was definitely a she..."

"She said, 'Impa!'" Fado said cheerfully.

Hot Rodder and Grog glanced at each other.

"That's the name of that Sheikah!" Hot Rodder said. They turned around and saw the two Moblins were approaching two other people that were close together, although they were too far off to make out who they were. "Hey!" Hot Rodder bellowed as the Moblins began to lower their spears. "Hana, Tak, we've got trouble!" The Goron's voice echoed deeply across the water, and in an instant the sounds of clashing swords stopped.

Not waiting to see if the others followed, Hot Rodder quickly curled into a ball and started to roll towards the Moblins, who were looking around confusedly for the source of the shouting.

"Let's go!" Fado shouted as she loaded a deku seed into her slingshot before racing down the hill after the Goron. Groaning, Grog yanked out his sword and followed the girl. Not too far behind, he could make out the sounds of Tak and Hana running behind him.

Hot Rodder reached the Moblins first. He crashed into them at full speed, sending one falling to the ground with a loud crash, and the other was forced to use his spear as support before he fell as well.

"Ha!" Hot Rodder shouted as he uncurled and folded his large hands into fists. He glanced in back of him and spotted the two people he had seen before, though he didn't recognize either. One was an older woman who he assumed to be Impa, but the other appeared to be a young boy dressed in similar Sheikah garb and not Zelda like he had been expecting. The boy was supporting Impa, who was unconscious. A pair of frightened, red eyes turned to stare at Hot Rodder, and the Goron remembered that he was currently in a battle.

Turning back to face the Moblins, he saw that they had recovered from his first attack. Fado was already halfway down the hill and starting to fire her slingshot. Any doubts the Goron had as to whether or not she could actually hit her target from that distance were erased when deku seed after deku seed came pelting down on the Moblin's helmets. The girl's hand was a blur as it moved from her ammo pouch to her weapon, and not one single seed missed its target.

"What is that?!" one of the Moblins shouted angrily over the clanging sounds that the seeds made when they hit their helmets.

The other lowered his spear, determined to ignore the flying projectiles, and focused on stabbing Hot Rodder. The Goron stood his ground, swinging his arms to keep the long, sharp spear from killing him.

"Hey!" The voice of Hana was a welcome change from the constant grunting of the Moblins, but Hot Rodder was unable to turn his attention from the one that was currently trying to put a hole in his head.

"They're huge!" Tak exclaimed as the other Moblin blocked him, Hana, and Grog from getting to their Goron companion.

"Alright." Hana tried to keep the uncertainty out of her voice. "We can do this. He's got that Moblin covered, so lets deal with this one first."

"What's the plan?" Tak asked. Hana, however, was already charging forward, dodging from side to side as the Moblin swung his spear at her like a bat. Tak groaned. "Never with the strategy. Come on, Grog, pick a side and let's try to distract him so Hana can get closer."

The two quickly charged forward and swung their swords at his arms. The Moblin roared in protest at the stinging cuts they left behind, and spun in a circle to keep them back. Grog fell back, but Tak was quicker and able to duck under the spear before charging forward again and stabbing at his feet. Grog quickly joined in on the other side as the Moblin tried to shake Tak off.

By now, Hana had managed to get around to the Moblin's back, and while he was distracted by Tak and Grog, she leaped forward and landed halfway up the Moblin's armored back. Gripping tightly to the chains of armor, Hana climbed the rest of the way to the Moblin's head, surprised that he hadn't noticed her yet. Tak and Grog were still busy taking turns attacking the monster below her. Taking advantage of the distraction, Hana gripped her sword tightly and, with a shout, stabbed it into the Moblin's neck.

The creature fell without making a sound, instantly dead. Hana quickly climbed off of the corpse before turning to face Hot Rodder. The Goron had managed to snap the other Moblin's spear in half, and the two were now close together and swinging their fists at each other.

"I got this one!" Tak shouted as he raced towards the Moblin. As he charged forward, he bent down and picked up the broken half of the spear. Stopping suddenly, Tak aimed the spear and threw it with all his strength. The sharp end flew straight into the Moblin's back. He gave a pained grunt before collapsing. Hot Rodder lowered his fists, panting heavily but looking quite pleased with himself.

"Now that's what I call a good old fashioned fist fight!" he said, his voice deep with excitement.

"Everyone alright?" Hana asked, checking over the others before turning her attention to the people they had just saved. "Impa!"

The boy, who was still keeping an unconscious Impa from falling to the ground, nodded towards the group. "Thank you for your help, Hana," he said.

Hana and Tak exchanged confused expressions before Hana turned back to the boy. "Sorry, do I know you?"

Suddenly the boy let out a giggle. "It's a good disguise, don't you think? It's me! Zelda!"

Fado arrived just in time to hear this latest revelation. "Ah, so the princess is actually a boy."

"Well, no, it's a disguise..." Zelda said awkwardly. "It was Impa's idea."

"Speaking of Impa." Hana nodded to the older woman. "Is she ok?"

"She'll be fine, just got knocked out. We need to hurry, back to Zora's Domain. More troops could arrive at any minute."

"Hey, man," Grog said nervously. "What's that?" He pointed towards a small dust cloud in the distance that was getting closer alarmingly quickly.

"Those," Zelda said grimly. "Are wolfos." A chilling howl reached their ears; it was the type of howl that could belong only to a viscous, bloodthirsty animal.

* * *

**I do hope the battle wasn't a bore to read. I'm never sure how much detail to put into those things...**

**Thanks for reading, see you Friday!**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter XIII

In which the Knights of Hyrule meet the Zoras...

The group of Hyruleans wasted no time in rushing back upriver, towards the waterfall. Hot Rodder slumped Impa carefully over his back so that Zelda wouldn't have to keep carrying her.

"We must hurry!" Zelda urged the group on as they ran as fast as they could. The group was already tired from their previous battle, and the long climb back up to the waterfall was not easy for them. The howls from the pack of Wolfos behind them grew louder and more excited; the animals had picked up the scent of blood from the dead Moblins.

Finally they reached the waterfall. Glancing behind her, Hana could see the Wolfos now; they were investigating the corpses, their sharp teeth clacking together in their anticipation of killing something.

"If we're going to do something," Hana said warningly.

Zelda glanced over her shoulder before turning her attention back to the waterfall. She raised her arms, and a soft glow emanated from her arms. The waterfall instantly slowed and parted, responding to the princess' silent command. A large cavern was revealed, its ceiling dripping with water. Peering into it, they could make out the flickering lights of torches deeper inside.

"Everyone get across!" Zelda called before leaping over the gap and racing into the cave.

"Fado!" Hana shouted as Hot Rodder took a few steps back to prepare to jump, Impa still draped over his shoulder.

"Yes?" Fado asked, not an inch of fear in her voice as the wolfos began to pound their way up the hill towards them.

"Cover fire, now!"

"Ok." Fado shrugged before whipping out her slingshot and pelting the animals with deku seeds. Surprised yelps sounded from below them, and the wolfos' progress slowed as they tried to avoid the bullets.

Hot Rodder started to run as fast as he could before leaping across the gap. It wasn't a very large gap, but for a Goron, who was quite heavy and had small legs, it might as well have been a great chasm. His toes managed to land on the other side, but he wasn't balanced and started to fall backwards. Right before he began to fall into the water below, several blue-tinted hands reached out and grabbed him, pulling him to safety.

"Everyone else, get across now!" Hana shouted, pulling out her sword as a more aggressive wolfos started to round the top of the hill. Fado hit it right between the eyes with a deku seed, but even that didn't seem to stop it. It merely snarled at her before lunging towards her. Hana was ready for it, stabbing her sword into its side as it leaped through the air. It howled and fell to the ground, Hana landing on top of it. Fado never stopped firing at the other wolfos, even though they seemed to be acting more cautious now that one of their own had been killed.

"Hana!" Tak shouted. "We're across, hurry!"

"Time to go!" Hana said, and she gripped Fado before pulling her backwards towards the waterfall. The Kokiri continued to shoot, although her aim was slightly off now that she had to walk backwards as well.

"Hurry!" This was a new voice, and as Hana looked for the voice she spotted several humanoid fish - Zora - lining the cliffside above the waterfall. Each raised their arms in front of their faces before slinging them forward; sharp fins detached from their arms and flew over Hana and Fado's heads, just as they leaped across to safety. Several wolfos were killed and the others fled from the area, howling as they went. The fins swung back around and shot back towards the Zoras like boomerangs, reattaching to their arms as if they had never left.

A young female Zora was standing nearby, gesturing for them to follow her. "This way."

They stepped through the cave and were soon standing in a humongous cavern. There were a few walkways scattered about, but most of it was filled with water. Another, smaller waterfall kept the cavern filled with a fresh supply of water. Several Zoras were swimming about in the pool below them, looking as if they were just there for a good time despite that they were nearly attacked.

"Welcome to Zora's Domain," the Zora said. "I am Ruto, daughter to King Zora."

Hana's eyes widened as she realized that she was standing next to the princess of an entirely different race. "Thanks for the rescue," she said.

"Oh don't mention it, they needed something to practice on anyway. You can only shoot at stationary targets for so long before it just becomes redundant."

Tak put his sword back into its hilt. "Well it certainly was good timing. But won't you get into trouble with Ganondorf now?"

"Oh, him," Ruto dismissed the name with a wave of her hand. "Right now that man doesn't know what to do about us. We have too powerful of an army for him to risk taking on right now, not to mention that he's hoping we'll join him." She laughed at their expressions. "I know, right? That's how I felt when I saw the message he sent us. Oh, Zelda, my father wanted to talk to you again before you left. Lucky that those things attacked, or you might not have returned at all!"

"Yes, lucky thing," Zelda repeated before following Ruto along the walkways towards the throne room.

"You lot can stay here for now!" Ruto called over her shoulder. "You'll be safe here!"

"What a place!" Hot Rodder commented as another Zora took hold of Impa and carried her up to the throne room as well. "Remind me not to trip and fall! You'll never get me out!"

Hana glanced down at the deep water below. "Maybe we should move down a bit for now."

Fado began to skip ahead of them. "Yes, just incase you forget not to fall!"

They soon discovered that the pool grew more shallow in certain areas, and they were able to rest their sore feet in the cool, refreshing water. Fado would every so often kick her feet out and splash whoever was sitting closest to her at the time.

"Well," Hana began, and everyone turned their attention to her. "I'm proud of us today. We won against two giant Moblins, and a pack of wolfos."

The others grinned happily.

"You know," Grog said hesitantly. "I think maybe we should practice more often though. It took me a while to get used to the way that sword was balanced."

"Hana," Tak grabbed his friends attention with excitement in his voice. "I think we can win this."

Hana nodded. "Me, too."

The others nodded eagerly before turning back to watch the waterfall, sitting in companionable silence.

* * *

"What do you mean you haven't met Lord Jabu-Jabu yet? Why, everyone should meet him while they're visiting! It's not everyday you get to meet a god, you know!"

Hana raised an eyebrow towards the Zora that they were currently talking to. Tak, however, seemed most interested in the fact that the Zoras' god was actually living with them.

"Does he have super powers?" Tak asked excitedly.

"Super powers?" The Zora rubbed his arm fins together uncertainly. "I don't know."

"But, he's a god, right?"

"Well of course he is! You should visit him!"

Tak turned to Hana. "Can we? Can we?"

"Why are you asking me? I'm not your mother, go see him if you want to see him!"

"Awesome! Who else wants to meet a god?" Tak turned to the others.

Fado tilted her head as she considered the question. "I already met a god." No one else had any idea what or who she was talking about, but Tak accepted the answer all the same. "Grog? Hot Rodder?"

"Count me out, goro. I'm staying down here until we leave, I don't want to fall."

Grog sighed. "I guess it's something to do."

Tak and Grog marched towards the throne room, moving closer to the edge of the walkway to allow Zelda through as she passed, heading towards Hana.

"Hi, Zelda, how's Impa?" Hana asked as Zelda reached them.

"Awake now, and fine, thank the goddesses."

"Glad to hear it."

"Listen, I never got the chance to really thank you for what you did today. If you and your... what is this group of yours anyway?"

"It's a long story."

Fado clapped her hands together. "We are awakening the Knights of Hyrule. Once more shall they ride across these great lands, for their defense and the defense of their people."

"Yeah, that," Hana said, leaning casually against the damp wall while Zelda stared at them with wide eyes.

"You are not joking?"

"Nope," Hot Rodder said cheerfully.

"Incredible. I did not think that... why though?"

"Because," Hana began. "Even if Link does return, this is all too much for one person to handle on his own. He's going to need all the help he can get. Plus, we can distract Ganondorf from your plans... whatever those are, exactly."

Zelda looked astonished, and she was about to say something else when Fado interrupted her. "Zelda... that doesn't sound quite right."

"Excuse me?" Zelda asked while Hana and Hot Rodder just looked at the Kokiri curiously.

"You are disguised as a Sheikah, you need a different name than that now."

Zelda blinked. "You... you are asking me to discard the last remaining connection I have to my past, to my lineage?"

Fado gazed into Zelda's red eyes, and suddenly the Kokiri girl grew somber. "No, just to forget it for a while."

Zelda was silent for a while as she gazed towards the water. "You are right, of course. I need to stay hidden, and should get used to using a different name so I can apply it easily should I have to. I will consider it."

It looked as if Fado wanted to make a suggestion, but then Tak's voice from above echoed towards them. "Hey, Hana, Lord Jabu-Jabu is huge! You should see him!"

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend!**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter XIV

In which the Knights receive their orders...

Hana and Fado were visiting Impa, who had been placed in a special alcove near the Zora's throne room to rest. Fado had stated that she could help the Sheikah heal more quickly, as she had knowledge of medicines that the Zoras didn't, and Hana was there just to make sure the Kokiri didn't get distracted and accidentally kill the older woman.

"Well," Impa said as she watched Fado grind down the bones of a freshly caught fish. She was laying on a small cot, her head propped up on a pile of pillows and wrapped with clean bandages. "I'd heard the legends of the Knights, but I never thought I'd see the day when they were brought back. No, that's not quite right. I'd hoped that I wouldn't see the day."

Fado dumped the fish bones into a pot, that was beginning to smell more and more like a soup than any medicine Hana had ever seen. "Hope is a strange thing," Fado said thoughtfully. "It's like a prayer, but not."

Hana hid her smile when Impa's expression grew confused. "I suppose," the Sheikah said finally. "I also hear you got the Gorons on our side. Good work."

"It actually wasn't that hard," Hana said, sitting down on a chair that faced Impa's bed. "They seem quite eager to, how does Hot Rodder put it? Pummel things into the ground, was his words, I think."

Impa snorted. "Sounds like them."

"We lost Kokiri Vilage though. It was attacked almost right after you two left."

Impa glanced over at Fado, who didn't seem to be listening as she added a random assortment of mushrooms. "The forest village isn't exactly a tactical advantage for us. The monsters won't dare venture into the deeper parts of the woods, so we still have access to the secret passages there. We haven't lost much there." Impa glared suddenly at Hana. "And don't you dare even think of trying to take it back now. Keeping up a curse that powerful on the forest temple will keep Ganondorf distracted, and that's what we need right now."

"Fine fine," Hana said bitterly. "But someday we will go through there and free the Kokiri."

Fado shrugged as she threw in an ingredient that Hana didn't recognize. "They'll be fine. The indoor air is good for them."

"Wait, what did you just put in there?" Hana asked, peering into the boiling pot of liquid. It was a strange, dark green color, and there were several lumps of... something... that Hana couldn't make out but were floating along the surface all the same.

"All done!" Fado said, and she pulled the pot from the stove.

Impa cast the potion a worried look. "I'm not so sure about this anymore."

"It's fine, silly! It'll make you feel better right away!" Fado held out the potion with a large smile.

Impa glanced at Hana, who shrugged, before grabbing the bottle and drinking down the potion with her eyes screwed shut. Her eyes reopened with surprise. "Hey, that does work! What was in that stuff? You know what, I don't want to know. Thanks."

Fado nodded just as Ruto poked her head into the room. "There you are, Hylian!" the Zora princess said to Hana. "My father and Zelda want to talk to you right away!"

"About what?"

"About the the Knights' role in this mess, of course! Now hurry, before they change their mind and have the meeting without you."

"Fine, I'm coming, but I'm bringing everyone with me. If this is about the Knights, then all of us should be there."

Ruto sighed impatiently. "I really don't think my father will like that."

Impa nodded in agreement. "The Zoras are very hierarchical; only the leaders are allowed into meetings."

"Ah, but," Fado began happily. "Hana is, but isn't, the leader!"

Impa blinked as she tried to process this. "Wait, what?"

"Oh just come on, already!" Ruto said. "I'll convince my father to let everyone in, just find them and hurry up!" She went running out then, her webbed feet slapping loudly against the floor as she went.

Hana had no trouble finding the others in her group. Hot Rodder, Tak, and Grog were all gathered together and arguing over who was the tallest. It was a ridiculous argument in Hana's opinion, as the Goron was clearly towering over everyone as the other two tried to stand on tiptoe next to him. With a little convincing, she managed to get them to drop the matter for the time being and ushered them all towards the throne room.

Ruto was sitting next to the king, looking rather proud of herself; she had obviously managed to convince him to let more than just Hana in. Zelda was there as well, still disguised as a Sheikah and standing on the podium where one was supposed to stand when addressing King Zora. The king himself was sitting with an annoyed expression on his face, one which he quickly tried to cover up when Hana and the others entered.

"Good, we're all here," King Zora said as they stood next to Zelda. "Now we can begin. I am under the impression that these Knights of Hyrule here are going to be opposing Ganondorf openly? So that we have more room to maneuver while Ganondorf is distracted by them?"

Tak couldn't hold back, and he quickly answered before Hana could. "You betcha! ...Sir."

"Hmm," both the king and Ruto said uncertainly as they looked at him.

"In that case," the king finally continued, and the others in the room gave silent sighs of relief. "We will include you in the plans that Princess Zelda and I have been putting together."

Zelda stood straighter, if that were at all possible. "We believe that our only chance to stop Ganondorf is to find the other sages."

Hana looked at her. "Other?"

"I am one of them, the seventh. I know for a fact that Impa is another; I grew up with her always at my side and recognized her powers as that of a sage even as a child. That leaves us with five to locate and protect until we can enact the rest of my plan."

"Excuse me, but what are these sages supposed to do in the rest of your plan?" Hana asked.

"We will join our powers, and seal Ganondorf in a prison that can withstand the most potent and commanding powers... even time itself."

"That..." Tak began. "That sounds really awesome!"

"And quite helpful," Fado added. "I'm in favor of the idea of a prison instead of killing him."

Hot Rodder shrugged. "I would prefer to pummel him into the ground, but I guess this idea will work, too."

"I agree," Hana said. "Grog?"

The oldest Hylian in the group shrugged. "It's something to do."

King Zora blinked at them. "What is this? Democracy? It takes a very long time to come to a decision that way, doesn't it? Well, at any rate, we are all in agreement... finally. The Knights of Hyrule shall travel to the desert!"

"Why the desert?" Hana asked.

Zelda answered her. "Before the castle was attacked, it used to hold a book that described a secret, hidden library deep in the desert. It is said that this library holds the knowledge of the sages. While I do not believe that it is meant to be taken literally, I feel that this library will show us the way to the other sages."

"The desert," Hana said with a frown. "That will be tricky to get to."

Fado bounced from foot to foot. "There's no paths in the forest that lead there."

Zelda nodded. "Which means you'll have to cross Hyrule Field."

Tak gaped at her. "Are you kidding? Forget it! We'll never make it! We can't even step outside the Zora's Domain without running into wolfos and Moblins!"

"All the same, that is what we must do," Zelda said, meeting his gaze.

Ruto stood suddenly, bringing everyone's attention onto her. "I'm going to go, too!"

"No!" Zelda nearly shouted. She recovered herself as the other princess began to pout. "You must remain here, if Ganondorf sees a Zora with us he will send his retribution straight to this domain. We must all be cautious about who is and is not seen out there."

"Ahha!" Ruto suddenly shouted before smiling smugly. "You've got a Goron, and aren't they supposed to be trying to stay hidden for now, too? So how come he gets to go and I don't?"

"Because," Zelda replied. "Gorons, at heart, are a nomadic race. It's not unheard of for a stray Goron to wander around on his own."

Hot Rodder nodded his head. "That's true, goro! Ganondorf won't think much of a lone Goron."

"Alright then, let's get ready!" Hana said, turning to leave.

"Hold on a minute!" Zelda said quickly. "You can't go now."

"We can't? Why not?"

Zelda wrung her hands together nervously and then forced herself to look Hana in the eye. "Because... because what Tak said is true. There are far too many of Ganondorf's troops out there right now. You'll never even get across the bridge, never mind into the desert - Ganondorf's home lands. We will need patience for this. His troops are more aggressive because he thinks I am nearby. If I disappear for a while, he will call them back to his castle and wait again."

"Aw, man," Grog groaned. "How long do we wait?"

Tak heaved a sigh. "Until it's safe enough to risk this mission."

"Patience," Zelda said softly. "This will give you all more time to train, at any rate."

King Zora kicked his feet through the air as he listened. "You'll need armor. What sort of army will you be without armor?"

"We could try Kakariko Village, maybe someone knows how to make armor," Tak suggested.

King Zora laughed; at least, they assumed it was a laugh. It sounded more like a high pitched cough. "Hylians can't make armor worth a rupee!" He glanced over at Zelda. "No offense." The girl simply crossed her arms over her chest and stared icily at him. "Now Zora armor, that's the stuff! Tight links, bounce arrows back like they're made of rubber! Lightweight, too; even the little one over there could wear it no problem."

Fado tilted her head. "Does it come in green?"

King Zora's smile dropped. "No."

"Oh. Well, that's alright, I suppose. It would be interesting to see me in a different color, don't you think?" Her fairy bobbed through the air, but didn't give any other sign that she agreed.

Hana thanked the king for the offer, and then her group, along with Zelda, trooped out of the throne room.

"Well, I think that went well!" Tak said cheerfully.

"Indeed," Zelda said with a small smile. "Listen, all of you. Ruto is also a sage, but she must not know. I did not even tell Impa of her destiny when I learned of it."

"Why not?" Hot Rodder asked.

"It is not yet time to awaken the sages. If we awaken them too early Ganondorf will be able to sense them. We will merely be their caretakers until it is."

"Well when is the right time then?" Hana asked.

"I am not certain."

Fado giggled. "Time is a silly thing. It never makes sense until after it has passed us by."

"I... yes." Zelda looked confused, however she seemed to have decided to just agree with whatever came out of the Kokiri's mouth. "Now it is time for Impa and me to leave. We will remain hidden so you can find the sages." She gazed at each of the Knights in turn. "Goddesses be with you all."

"You, too," Hana replied.

Zelda left, and a few minutes after, Hana and the others found themselves seated in a private room for dinner.

"What a day!" Tak breathed out as he leaned back in his chair.

Hana swirled the water around in her glass before looking up. "Here's to many more like it."

The five Knights brought their glasses together with a clink and then settled in to their food. No more words were spoken between them that night.

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**Thanks for reading! Next chapter starts the main plot thingy of this here story; hooray!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A big thanks to ****rj703 for reviewing! **

**And now, on with the story, where we go through a TIME SKIP! What fun.**

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Chapter XV

In which a running man is rescued...

The Running Man was what most people called him, usually because he was too preoccupied with running to waste the time it took to give out his name. Years ago, he had read a fascinating story about a species of animal called rabbits. The idea of a strange animal running the fields of Hyrule had occupied his mind for years; one rather nice young lad had even encouraged his obsession by giving him a hood with rabbit ears. However, at this particular moment, The Running Man found himself thinking of other things besides rabbits. It was an incredibly mind-liberating moment, until he realized that what was preoccupying him now was the fact that he was surrounded by Stalfos.

He realized that he should have been expecting something like this sooner; it was only a matter of time before he got into trouble during his insistence on not ceasing his running around Hyrule Field. The ten, large, skeletal warriors were laughing deeply, which freaked the man out more than the swords that were being pointed at him.

"Can we talk about this or something?" the man asked, his voice shaking with fear.

One of them shook his head and raised his sword. The Running Man dropped to his knees and screamed, his arms raised above his head in an attempt to protect it from the thick blade. Then a new sound reached his ears; it was the sound of horses. He cautiously peeked around his arms and saw the Stalfos were now ignoring him and looking for the source of the whinnying they had heard. The beating of hooves against the ground met The Running Man's ears right before the horses themselves came into view.

They flew towards him, appearing from the darkness and tossing their heads angrily. There were three total, and each had a rider, though they were moving far too fast for The Running Man to make out any details on them. There was also some sort of giant boulder rolling alongside them, though none of them seemed to notice it. In less than a heartbeat, the horses and their riders, along with the boulder, were amongst the Stalfos. Sounds of shouting and swords clashing against each other surrounded him, and he could see the three riders easily swiping through the Stalfos' defenses. Even the boulder, which turned out to be some sort of rock-like man, was punching through their shields with seemingly little effort.

The Running Man realized that this was probably the perfect time to escape, sneak away into the night and flee, but he found himself transfixed by the scene in front of him. He yelped in surprise when a deku seed came flying from out of nowhere and nearly hit him. Peering into the darkness, past the battle, he could make out even more deku seeds hurtling through the sky towards the stalfos; most hit them near their face, keeping them from seeing too much of what was in front of them and even stunning a few. The Running Man quickly took a few steps back when another deku seed missed its intended target and hit him in his chest, knocking the wind from him.

Minutes passed in what felt like seconds, and then the battle was finally over. The horses stopped moving, snorting anxiously. Finally, he could get a better look at the riders. The first he looked at was completely bald, but well muscled and had bright, green eyes that gleamed in the limited light. The next was younger than the first man he saw, and had flaming, short, red hair and blue eyes. The final rider, who was currently navigating around the dead stalfos, was, to his surprise, a young woman. Her frizzled, brown hair was tied back, and her blue eyes were fixed on him. It was then that he realized he was still cowering on the ground. Quickly standing up, he brushed off his pants and watched as the woman slid off her horse.

"You ok?" she asked, patting her horse's brown neck.

The man nodded, struggling to form words. Finally he managed to blurt out a "Ya!"

"Good." The woman then turned around and shouted into the distance. "Hey, Fado, get over here before you wander off and get lost again!"

The man listened to her issue more orders as he stared at the strange armor the girl was wearing. Links of light blue colored chain mail were tightly woven together and acted as both pants and shirt; they were placed over a darker blue cloth that was there more for modesty's sake than for any defensive purpose. Strapped over her back was a curved sword with the fanciest looking hilt he had ever seen, and a shield with a design that he had seen in the shops a while ago at Kakariko Village. All of the others except for the rock creature were wearing the same type of armor.

"Hey, are you even listening?"

The man jumped when he realized that she was talking to him again. Blue eyes peered at him concernedly. "Eh... what?"

The woman sighed. "I asked what you were even doing out here."

"Oh, uh... running."

A thin eyebrow rose and disappeared behind her bangs. "Running?" she repeated doubtfully. "You realize this isn't the best place to do that, right?"

"Uh... yes. I do now."

Before he could even react, the girl reached out and slapped him across the face. He barely felt it, but his head snapped to the side so he imagined that there had been a good amount of force behind it. Then he wondered why she had even slapped him in the first place.

"Shock," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Tak, we're taking this guy with us back to the base."

"Fine, Hana," said the red head, just as a little girl came racing towards him, followed closely by a bright fairy. Blonde pigtails bobbed around her head as she jumped towards the horses. She, too, was wearing the same blue armor; the only difference was that she wore hers over green cloth. The Running Man noticed that she had a slingshot in her hands and realized that she had been the one who had shot at the Stalfos - and him.

"I missed twice," the little girl sadly to the horse that was carrying the bald rider. "Grog, I think my slingshot's off."

The bald rider - Grog - leaned forward and held out a hand to help the girl climb up onto his horse. "Well we can fix it later. We have to get moving before a patrol comes out here to investigate."

"Let's move out," Hana called out. She shoved The Running Man onto one of the horses so that he was seated in back of Tak. "Hold on," she warned him before mounting her own horse. "Ready, Rod?"

"Ready, goro!" said the rock creature before it curled into a ball and started to roll off. The horses followed, easily keeping up with the fast pace that the boulder was creating for them. Soon The Running Man realized where they were heading; Lon Lon Ranch soon came into view. The horses and the boulder slowed down at this point, and Hana broke off from the others to head back the way they had been coming from.

"Where's she going?" The Running Man asked, trying to twist around to see.

"Make sure we aren't being followed," Tak answered. "I mean, that would be bad, if we were. You know?"

The Running Man nodded; he supposed it would be. Although, now that he thought of it, he couldn't imagine why. Who were these people anyway? Their casual pace continued, and the horses and boulder seemed to insist on meandering lazily along as if they weren't going to go to the ranch after all. Then there was a sharp whistle from somewhere not too far off, and the group continued on to the ranch. Hana soon caught up to them, a pleased expression on her face.

"Looks like that distraction of yours worked, Tak. There's a ton of patrols investigating all those torches you set up."

"Told you it would work," Tak said smugly.

The Running Man looked around for any sign of torches, but couldn't make out anything. Soon they were hidden away in the ranch, and he gave up on trying to see the distraction they had supposedly set up.

A young woman that he recognized to be Malon came racing up to them. "You're back finally! I was worried when you didn't arrive the day you said you would," she said, helping Fado slide down to the ground.

"Sorry about that," Hana said as she dismounted herself. "Got held up near Lake Hylia. Group of Moblins patrolling the area."

Malon collected the reigns of the now riderless horses and looked at them breathlessly. "So? Did it work?" Hana nodded and Malon clapped her hands together. "That's great news! Oh, but, who is this? No, wait! I know you! You're that running man!"

"I am," The Running Man said wearily.

"He had a bit of an encounter with some Stalfos," Grog said, a hint of amusement in his voice, though The Running Man couldn't see anything humorous about that at all.

"Oh dear," Malon said worriedly, but that was all she said before she pulled the horses towards the barn to be taken care of.

"Beggin' your pardon," The Running Man said hesitantly to Hana. "But what was she talking about? Did what work?"

Tak grinned. "A test of what will be our masterful plan!"

"Oh..."

"Alright, inside, all of you," Hana ordered. "Let's get some rest."

"Yes, please!" Grog said, stretching. "Traveling for over seventy-two hours straight with no rest is a lot of work."

The others laughed, except for The Running Man, as he had no idea what was so funny about that either.

"Don't wake up Talon," Fado said seriously as they stepped inside.

"Fado, nothing wakes him up," Grog said tiredly.

"Those things do!"

"Things? Cuccos, you mean."

"Yes, those!"

"Well just don't step on one then."

Soon the group was scattered about the floor with piles of hay underneath them. The Running Man watched in awe as they instantly fell asleep; he had never been that tired, and he hoped that he would never be. He startled as Malon tiptoed inside and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Take a bundle of straw, you can stay as long as you like," she whispered.

"Thanks. Er... who _are_ all these people?"

Malon looked at him, surprise on her face. "Where have you been? These are the Knights of Hyrule!"

"The... oh, right. I heard of them. They've been around for a while now, right?"

Malon nodded. "Over five years now."

"That's quite a long time to be running around and killing stuff. I would much prefer to just run around, without the killing thing going on alongside it."

Malon smiled. "I think they would, as well. Goodnight."

"Oh, yes. Goodnight." The Running Man found a nice place to settle and began to slowly drift off to sleep. A loud noise startled him awake; it was a rumble, almost like thunder, but much closer. He sat up, alarmed, and looked around. All of the Knights were still fast asleep, and he couldn't see any monsters lurking around. Then the noise happened again, and The Running Man realized that it was coming from the rock creature. The rock creature was snoring. The Running Man groaned and let himself fall back onto his straw. Burying his head as best he could under the straw, he scrunched his eyes shut and tried to fall asleep. The loud snoring continued on, surprising him awake every few seconds. It was going to be a long night, The Running Man realized with a sigh.

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**We are now officially halfway through this story! Fifteen more chapters to go (including the epilogue)! Thanks for reading this far!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Behold, another shoutout! Thanks to ****rj703 once again for reviewing! I love shoutouts myself, so I do them as much as possible, lol. Of course, if anyone out there doesn't like shoutouts, and the fear of getting one is the only thing keeping you from reviewing, then all you have to do is let me know and I'll keep your name off the chapters!  
What's that? No, that was absolutely _not_ my way of begging for more reviews. You people are so suspicious, sheesh... ;-)**

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Chapter XVI

In which the Knights plan their attack...

Hana awoke with a start. She couldn't remember the dream that had woken her up in such an alarmed state, but then again she realized she probably didn't want to. Early morning rays of sunlight were poking through the windows, casting a warm glow about the room. The others were still fast asleep, so Hana was careful to tread lightly as she exited the house and headed to the barn. Malon was there, spreading hay about for the horses' breakfast.

"Good morning!" Malon greeted her.

"Hey."

"That guy you brought with you yesterday left just a little while ago. Said it was too noisy that he couldn't sleep and then took off. He looked a lot better than when he first arrived though."

"Well, as long as he's not going back to run on the field. Bit of a basket case, that one, don't you think?"

Malon laughed. "Definitely."

Hana helped Malon with her morning chores, ignoring the older girl when she insisted that Hana simply rest. She didn't want to really admit it, but Hana found the repetitive actions to be relaxing; especially in the early morning hours when the rest of the world was still asleep. By the time she and Malon made it back to the farmhouse, the others had awoken and were preparing a breakfast of eggs.

"Mornin'," Tak greeted.

Grog slapped his arm. "Pay attention, man, you're burning them!"

Tak cursed and pulled the pan off the fire; the smell of burning food spread throughout the room.

"Those are yours," both Hana and Grog said casually.

"Aw come on, that's not fair!" Tak complained. Malon seated herself next to Fado, who was swinging her legs through the air and humming a song. The farm girl leaned back and watched the group interact with one another. It brought a smile to her face to watch the close friends. She prayed that nothing would ever separate them.

Enough eggs were cooked for everyone - all except for Hot Rodder, who seemed content with a pile of rocks - and soon they were all seated around the table. Ingo and Talon quickly joined them as the scent of breakfast wafted throughout the ranch.

"Fado," Grog started, his voice holding amusement. "It's called a fork."

Hana glanced over and noticed that the Kokiri was staring at the utensil as if she had never seen it before.

Grog began to demonstrate how to use it with dramatic movements. "See? You use it to poke things. Ow! Not me, you deku head!"

Fado giggled at hearing her own insult being turned against her, and then seemed to remember how to properly use a fork as she devoured her eggs in loud gulps.

After the dishes had been cleared and Talon, Malon, and Ingo had left to go back to work, Hana looked towards Tak. "So, Tak, care to go over our plan one more time? Just so that we're all clear on it."

"Sure thing, Captain!" Tak's eyes lit up when he saw the glare Hana shot him; even after five years of being in charge, she still hated being called that. "Now, pay attention this time, everyone." After saying this Tak looked pointedly at Hot Rodder.

"What?" Hot Rodder asked defensively. "I pay attention."

"Oh, ok then, Rod; I guess it was just my imagination then, when last time you were playing with an ant."

"They're so cute!" Hot Rodder argued. "It's not my fault."

Hana sighed at him. "Let's stay focused, people."

"Right-o!" Tak began cheerfully. "Now we know our stuff works, so now we can carry out with our main plan!" Tak rolled out a large map of Hyrule. Most of it was covered with markings designating different patrols or small troops that belonged to Ganondorf. "Now the tricky part is getting to Gerudo Fortress. And then getting through Gerudo Fortress. But once that's all done we're pretty much home free, and then all we have to do is find the library.

"So, step one, getting to the fortress. As we all know, Hyrule Field is covered with random patrols. We can get past them easy enough, but once they realize we're heading for the desert things might get tight. That's why we're setting up a decoy, to lead most of the patrols east towards the castle. We'll make them think we're heading straight to Ganondorf; we've taken out enough of his guys that it's not too much of a stretch. He'll just think we've gotten overconfident. Our decoys are those guys over there."

Tak pointed out several bundles of hay that had been shaped to look like people. "Courtesy of Malon. Once we're halfway to the fortress, we set up the decoys on our horses and send them on their way."

"Wait," Hot Rodder interrupted. "You aren't taking the horses?"

"No," Hana answered. "The desert's no place for a bunch of horses used to grasslands. We're on foot the rest of the way."

"Which you would know if you had been paying attention the first time," Tak said. "The horses will know to head back to the ranch on their own, they'll be fine. By the time Ganondorf realizes what's going on, we'll be in the canyon, here. Now there's been sightings of Moblins there, and it'll be tight quarters, but we can handle them. It'll have to be fast though, we'll need all the time we can get to get through the fortress; which brings us to step two!"

"This is the tricky part," Hana cut in. "If anything fails here, it's game over for everyone." She didn't have to add that that meant game over for all of Hyrule as well.

"Hot Rodder, Fado, and Grog, you guys are going to hang back while Hana and I sneak in and place explosives around the area, particularly up in their upper courtyard where they train their horses. We want them to be as far away from the main gate as possible. Once we're done, we'll draw enough of them away that you three can get to the fuse. Watch each other's backs and light it as soon as you get there. Then fall back and wait for the guards at the desert's gate to leave. Then you get the gate open and get in there. We'll be right behind you."

"But, goro, how will you get past all the guys you drew to you?"

"The explosives. We're going to position ourselves so that they're closer to them. Hopefully all the guards will be taken out in the explosion."

"Sounds dangerous. Do you have a backup plan?"

"Of course I do!" Tak said, looking genuinely offended over the suggestion that he didn't. "When do I not have a backup plan?"

Hana stood up. "Look, I know it's risky, but this is our best shot. Everything has to go flawlessly, so if there's any questions now's the time to ask them. We won't have time later."

The room fell silent.

"Alright then. We leave tonight, so let's double check our supplies."

* * *

The afternoon found the ranch bustling with activity. Hana was just loading the last of their bottles of water into their packs when she heard Fado giggling about something through the ranch house's open window. Curious over what the girl had found so amusing this time, Hana moved closer to the window. She spotted Grog and Fado standing over the table, their backs turned to the window and making a mess of the simple task of making sandwiches.

"I hope we live," Grog said suddenly.

"We will," Fado said as she set to work on cutting the crust off of all the sandwiches they had prepared so far.

Grog stopped with what he was doing and looked down at his hands. "You know why I joined the Knights?"

"I think so," Fado answered, still not looking up from her task. "That's why I joined; I'd heard of people with the thing you had, but I'd never seen it before. Not in real life, anyway. So I was curious."

Grog snorted in amusement. "Figures that's your reason. When I first met Hana, she said we probably wouldn't live that long. Back then, that was music to my ears. But now... now I..." Grog broke off but then continued speaking, his voice sounding the strongest Hana had ever heard it. "I wanna live."

Fado reached out and patted Grog lightly on the back of his hand. "You will."

"Yeah? And how do you know?" Grog teased.

"Because, I'm older than you, and that makes me wise."

The two burst into a fit of laughter, and Hana stepped away from the window. A moment later found her joining Tak to help him saddle the horses.

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**So expect an early update for the next chapter. I'll be uploading Chapter 17 a day early, since Friday I won't be free to use my computer and the weekend's going to be rather busy for me. Friday I'm driving all through the night to some conference thingy so that I can present some stuff on Saturday that I did with one of my professors. I'm freaking out about it right now, as I've never done a talk like this before, so if I happen to die of fright then you'll know why I suddenly stopped uploading new chapters, lol!**

**Anyways, thanks for reading! Bye for now!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks yet again to rj703 for reviewing, and also for the vote of confidence :-)  
I was glad to hear you like Fado, as I really enjoy writing her character; she's the trickiest to write for me, since I sort of want to portray her as a mix of an old, wise person and yet also as a little kid, lol.**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter. Next week will return the updating schedule to normal. Enjoy!**

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Chapter XVII

In which the plan fails...

Night fell over the ranch; under the cover that the darkness offered, the group set off. Malon watched them leave with concern in her eyes. Soon the group had disappeared, and she ran off to spend time with her friend, Epona, and to wait for the return of the Knights' horses.

Hana led the way across the field. There were no more Stalchildren that they had to deal with. Spending hour upon hour out in the fields at night during their early days of training had dealt with the swarms of restless skeletal creatures. Now the only threat outside belonged to Ganondorf and his troops.

A flickering torch in the distance made everyone quickly stop.

"What do you think? Stalfos?" Hana whispered to Tak, who was the closest.

"There's not too many if the number of torches are anything to go by."

"When are they ever?" Hana waved Grog and Fado - who were sharing a horse - towards her. "Grog, get Fado closer and see what she can make out."

"I have eagle eyes!" Fado bragged happily before Grog quickly hushed her.

The others waited with bated breath as Grog steered his horse closer to the light sources. He soon returned, his expression clearly worried. "She saw at least thirty, maybe more."

Tak gave a low whistle. "That's an army! Think Ganondorf knows something's up?"

Hana dismounted, and the others quickly followed suit. "No idea, but it's time to get our decoy going. There's no way we can take on thirty of those things at once."

"It's a bit early," Tak said, glancing at the sky. "We'll be tight on time when we make it to the fortress if we do it here."

"There's no choice. It'll take too long to go around them. Rod, here, take these." Hana handed Hot Rodder their pack of explosives, which were the heaviest load they had. The Goron lifted it easily and swung the bag over his shoulder.

The torches slowly crept closer as the group hurried to set up their decoys. "Alright, that should do it," Tak said, stepping back and surveying their work.

"Let's light the torches and get them moving." Hana stabbed a torch into the head of the nearest straw dummy before quickly lighting it and giving the horse a gentle slap against its thigh. The horse gave an annoyed snort before setting off. As soon as the other two horses were behind it all three picked up their pace. Hana watched the other torches; everyone let out relieved sighs when the Stalfos quickly changed direction and started to follow the horses.

"Move out," Hana whispered.

They set off at a brisk march.

* * *

By the time they arrived at the valley that led to the Gerudo Fortress, the morning light was just beginning to break through the thick darkness. The sun was not yet visible, but its first few rays were peaking out and giving the group enough light to easily spot the pair of Moblins that were patrolling.

"There they are, just like we thought," Tak said casually, swinging his pack onto the ground with a heavy thud.

"Ok, let's deal with them," Hana replied as she wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. Letting her pack fall next to Tak's, she sent Fado up the cliff so she could shoot from relative safety.

Hot Rodder hummed thoughtfully. "Only two? This will be a cinch!" He slammed his fists together and then curled into a ball, waiting for the signal.

The others pulled out their shields and swords before charging towards the Moblins. Hot Rodder waited a little longer and then began to roll along. He passed them just before they clashed against the Moblins, and his heavy weight sent one spinning into the cliffside where he was promptly bombarded by deku seeds and, later, Goron fists. While that one tried to recover, the other was easily dealt with and killed by Hana, Tak, and Grog.

"Well, that was easy," Grog said casually as the second Moblin fell, his head landing a few inches away from the rest of the body.

It didn't take them long to reach the long bridge that led across the canyon. The rushing water below could be heard despite the distance. Looking around, the Knights realized that there were less guards around than they had anticipated. In fact, there was no one there at all. The bridge was abandoned, and across the canyon was equally void of people or monsters.

"Does anyone else have a bad feeling about this?" Tak asked as they set off across the bridge.

Hana glanced over her shoulder at Tak. "No, it's just you; probably the fact that we're so high up right now."

"Don't talk to me about height!" Tak snapped back, keeping his gaze purposefully directed to the other side of the canyon.

The others chuckled quietly, but they couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was going on. They made it across with no trouble, and were soon marching quietly towards the fortress. Next to her Tak blew a sigh of relief, but Hana still felt tense. The fortress came into full view then; with a few hand signals, Grog, Hot Rodder, and Fado found a good place to hide where they would still be able to see the appropriate signal.

"Ready?" Hana asked Tak as she took the bag of explosives from Hot Rodder.

"Let's get this over with."

The fortress was covered with tall, Gerudo women that were all patrolling. Some were even walking about on the buildings' flat roofs. Clinging to the shadows as much as they could, Hana and Tak made their way to the upper courtyard. They trailed their long fuse along behind them, leaving the end that was to be lit close to where the others could easily reach it without being spotted. The fuse was thin, and barely visible even when one was directly next to it, so there was no fear of it being discovered before they got into position; the only worry Hana had was that it would be spotted once it was lit, and someone would be smart enough to throw piles of sand onto it to extinguish it.

They reached the top of a steep hill, and a few horses who had awoken early snorted at the new arrivals. Ignoring the animals, Hana and Tak quickly placed the bombs along the backs of the buildings. Tak attached the fuse to each bomb that Hana laid down and then threw her a thumbs up. Everything was ready to go.

Taking a few steps back, Hana approached the pens that held the horses and freed them, sending them running down towards the main fortress. Appropriate signal sent to both the others and the Gerudo, Tak and Hana readied their swords and waited for the Gerudo to show up.

It didn't take the women long to realize they had intruders. They came racing up the hill together, large, sharp pole-arms in their hands. In a moment they were upon them. Hana and Tak did their best to keep close to the hill - their only escape - as well as keep most of the Gerudo warriors close to the wall where their bombs were hidden.

The pair had never fought with a Gerudo before, however, and they found their quick, agile tactics to be overwhelming. They were used to the slower, but more powerful attacks of Moblins and Stalfos. The Gerudo employed more of a hit and run technique, in which they would leap forward, strike out, and then leap back before the Knights could even react. Eventually Hana realized that they were mostly just defending with the use of their shields, and they rarely found a chance to use their swords.

"Why aren't they lighting the damn fuse!?" Tak shouted.

Hana took a moment to glance back down the hill, but she couldn't make out anything over the heads of the other Gerudo. Almost imagining that she had somehow missed the explosion, she looked towards the guard tower that watched over the controls for the gate. The guards were still there; the way out was still blocked.

* * *

Hot Rodder, Grog, and Fado were hiding behind some bushes when they saw the horses charge past them.

"Horses!" Fado screamed delightedly.

"That's the signal!" Grog said, stumbling out of his hiding spot. "Let's go!"

"Hold on, goro, I've got the flint right here." Hot Rodder rummaged through his pack while Grog watched impatiently. Finally the Goron pulled out two small stones and tossed them over to Grog, who promptly raced towards the fuse, clicking together the stones as he went to try and get a spark from them.

Bending over the fuse, he struck the stones harder. Still no spark appeared, and the fuse remained unlit. "Why aren't these working!?" Grog muttered angrily. "Oh what the heck... they're wet! How'd they get wet!?"

Fado giggled next to him.

"Fado!?"

"They were dusty, they needed cleaning!" Fado protested. "You shouldn't travel with dust, you'll get sick."

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"What do we do now, goro?"

Grog looked around desperately. "Find some sticks or something. Something dry!"

Suddenly Fado gasped and pointed back towards the bridge. "Look!"

Grog and Hot Rodder turned to see a small army of Stalfos marching across the bridge.

"No way they caught up to us that fast," Grog said, as if that statement would make the Stalfos disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Maybe..." Hot Rodder began, his voice anxious. "Maybe they saw through the decoy and only sent the guys with torches to investigate?"

"So, what, they followed us? Why'd they wait so long to attack then?" Grog snapped as he desperately began to search for something he could use to start a fire. "Lay down some cover fire, Fado!"

"Hmm... oh! I forgot to fix my sling shot!"

"It's still usable!" Grog snatched the weapon from her belt and shoved it into her hands. "Just shoot!"

"Ok, but don't blame me when I miss them." Fado said; her fairy hovered close by, peering out nervously at the approaching Stalfos.

Hot Rodder helped Grog look for an appropriate lighter, but every so often he would glance towards the Stalfos to see if he would have to join the fight. For now Fado's deku seeds seemed to be doing a good enough job of slowing their progress, but eventually they would just start to charge forward again.

Grog threw some too brittle sticks away from him in frustration. "There's nothing here! What is it with this stupid desert!?"

* * *

"Tak!" Hana shouted as she swung her sword out from behind her shield, laying a deep cut across a Gerudo's arm. "Fall back!"

She saw Tak nod in the corner of her eye and then bash two Gerudo away from him with his shield, creating a momentary opening for him to slip through. The gap was closed by a rather aggressive Gerudo in less than a second, but Tak was already through and racing down the hill. Hana, however, was having difficulty creating a similar opening for herself. Then she saw it; a Gerudo in the back of the swarm she was currently fighting was looking at Tak and raising a bow. Hana screamed her friend's name, but he didn't seem to hear as he continued to run down the hill.

Slamming her shield into the nearest Gerudo and effectively stunning her for a time, Hana gripped her sword tightly and then threw it as hard as she could. The sword was well balanced, and cut threw the air directly towards the archer. The Gerudo fell, and her scream caught Tak's attention. He slid to a stop and whirled around to see Hana without her sword and holding the army back with just her shield.

"Hana!"

Hana heard the call and looked up. "Plan B!" she shouted back.

Tak stood there, torn on what to do.

"Plan B! I'll be right behind you!" Hana shouted again, dodging a spear attack.

Finally Tak nodded, and he continued to run down the hill towards the others. He stopped short when he saw the Stalfos crossing the bridge. Fado was doing her best to keep them back while the the others seemed to be searching for something. For what he had no idea, but there was no time. They were cut off from their only escape. Thinking quickly, Tak raced to meet up with Hot Rodder.

"Rod, charge the gate, now!" Tak shouted.

Hot Rodder looked up, towards the gate. "That's strong iron, not sure if that'll work..."

"Just do it! Fado, shoot at the guard up on that tower, keep her busy!"

"But what about the Stalfos?" Fado asked, a whine in her voice.

"If we have to, me and Grog will hold them off. Just get that gate open and get into the desert!"

"Where's Hana?" Grog demanded as he stood next to Tak, sword in hand.

"Keeping the Gerudo busy. We're moving on to Plan C."

"What happened to Plan B?"

"Plan B needed access to the bridge."

"Then what's Plan C?"

Tak nodded over to where Hot Rodder was beginning to roll as fast as he could towards the gate. "You're looking at it."

The guard of the gate tried her best to shoot at Hot Rodder as he stormed towards the gate, but the deku seeds that pelted her kept her from aiming properly. Hot Rodder slammed against the gate. The iron bars shook in their hinges and then collapsed into the thick sand.

"Go!" Tak screamed.

The four ran into the desert; a thick dust storm quickly moved around them, hiding them from their enemies.

Hana saw them disappear through the gate and felt relief flood through her. They had made it in. Then the flat end of a pole-arm slammed into the back of her head. The last coherent thought she had before she lost consciousness was the fear that they wouldn't be able to make it back out.

* * *

**Muhaha, behold the return of the evil cliffhanger! Thanks for reading, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. Have a great weekend everyone!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Haha! I have returned alive and well, and with a brand new chapter! A big thanks to rj703 for reviewing, and also to anyone who has favorited this story thus far; things like that just really brighten my day (especially on a day like today, where it is currently pouring where I live and the lights are flickering ominously, so I should probably stop typing and just upload this chapter already before I lose power...).**

**Please note, in this chapter I swap between two different point of views; I put lines between when this happens, to make it easier to read, so when you see a line just know that that means we're jumping to a different character (or characters).**

* * *

Chapter XVIII

In which resolutions are made...

They stood out in the middle of the desert, staring glumly at their surroundings. It was hotter than they had expected; already they had gone through far too much water than they should have. The wind, while light, would push loose burning sand into their faces every so often, making them feel even more miserable. Fado had taken to climbing onto Hot Rodder's back so as to avoid as much of the sand as she could. They hadn't even made it very far yet; gerudo Fortress was still visible in the distance.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, goro, but this place is great! It's like being back in my volcano!"

Grog spat out a mouthful of sand before answering bitterly. "Well I'm glad _someone's_ happy."

"Ok, come on," Tak said, hitching his pack further up his shoulder.

"Come on what?" Grog asked, surprise in his voice. "We can't just leave Hana behind!"

"We've waited long enough, something's obviously happened. We need to find the library and finish our mission." They could hear in Tak's voice that he wasn't very happy with this decision, but any anger they felt towards him for actually making that decision overpowered their sympathy for him.

"We're leaving her behind? Are you kidding me!?" Grog shouted.

"When Hana and I devised our backup plan, we knew that if we had to implement it it meant bad news; we accepted the fact that one of us might get left behind, but we both agreed to carry out the mission first! When we get back, we'll rescue her."

"If she's still alive," Fado said with wide eyes, voicing what everyone else was thinking.

Tak scowled out at the desert and started to stumble through the sand. "Yeah," he said. "If she's still alive."

* * *

Hana became aware of pain first. Her head felt like it was on fire. Trying to move only made it worse, and so she focused on trying to get her eyes open first. Bright rays of sunlight seared through the windows and into her open eyes, stinging them but at least telling her that not much time had passed. She was in a cell with absolutely nothing inside it except for her. The floor was made of rough stone that dug into her side. It was incredibly uncomfortable, but trying to sit up to alleviate the problem only made her head pound harder. Deciding on the lesser of two evils for the moment, Hana remained still.

She hadn't realized that her eyes had drooped closed again until she heard the clanging of her cell door open. Noticing that she couldn't see who had entered, she quickly forced her eyelids open again. Automatically reaching for her sword, she also noticed that her weapons and armor were gone. The only clothing left was the blue tunic and pants she wore underneath the chain mail.

"Awake, I see," the Gerudo woman standing in front of her said. "That didn't take long."

Hana glared up at her. The tall, red head looked like any other Gerudo. She had a dark tan, golden eyes, and an aura of arrogance about her.

The Gerudo tutted down at her. "And here I was about to give you some water, but with that look I don't think I will." She laughed. "Still glaring at me then? Fine, we'll try the water later. Now then..." The Gerudo pulled a chair into the room and seated herself on it. "I'd like to know your name, please." They remained there in silence, Hana never letting the glare fall from her face. "Well, mine is Alya. There, now we're just introducing ourselves."

Alya's phony smile slowly dropped as Hana still refused to speak. "Look," Alya began as she leaned forward.

That was the chance Hana had been waiting for. While the woman was still in the awkward position, Hana threw herself forward and gripped the Gerudo by her hair, pulling back on the ponytail at the same time that she tried to grab her scimitar.

Hana felt the sword's hilt in her hand but before she could grip it tightly enough she was suddenly flipped through the air. She landed heavily on the stone. With all the sudden movement, her head felt like it was not only on fire but also splitting into two.

Alya yanked her scimitar out and stabbed it through Hana's own sword hand. The Hylian couldn't help the pained scream that escaped her.

Yanking the sword out of Hana's hand, Alya marched outside the cell and slammed the door shut. "You might want to consider cooperating with me. Ganondorf will be here in a few days, and you'll find he's a lot less hospitable than I am. If you tell me what I want to know before he gets here, I might be able to help you."

Hana placed her other hand tightly over her wounded one, not even bothering to acknowledge the older woman. She heard the Gerudo's light footsteps as she stomped out of the room; a heavy door slammed shut, and then she heard the sound of several locks clicking into place. She felt a grin growing on her face; so many locks for just one prisoner. They must be really scared of her to go to such extremes. A little voice in her head said they just didn't want to take any chances with her escaping, but she shoved that out of the way. Thinking they were scared of her was a much nicer thought.

A few hours passed before she was visited by Alya again. By that time she had managed to bandage her hand as best she could with a torn off piece of her tunic's sleeve, but it was beginning to burn and throb, a sure sign of infection.

"Are we going to answer questions now?" Alya asked, not entering the cell this time.

"Sure," Hana said casually. "Where does Ganondorf keep his keys to his castle? I'd like to borrow them for a while."

Alya glowered at her.

"What? You did say _we_."

"Tell me where your little friends are going."

Hana pretended to think about this for a while before she shook her head. "Nah, you didn't answer my question, and I asked first."

Alya turned and waved somebody else into the room. "Don't say I didn't warn you, Hylian," the Gerudo spat.

Hana watched as another Gerudo woman stepped into the room, carrying some sort of sharp, yet small, needle. Hana had no idea what they intended to do with that, but it didn't look threatening at all. Quite the opposite in fact.

Alya pulled the cell door open. Hana got ready to attempt a second escape, but Alya was too fast. In the blink of an eye, she had Hana pinned to the wall by her throat. Barely able to breath, Hana could only watch as the other Gerudo stuck the needle into her arm. She watched, horrified, as some sort of liquid poured into her veins.

Then she was released, and she fell to her knees drinking in much needed air in gasps. "What was that?" she managed to cough out.

"Oh you'll see. Soon you'll be singing like a bird for us!" Alya said cheerfully as the two Gerudo exited the room.

* * *

A heavy silence draped over them like a thick blanket. Even the sound of the wind seemed dull in their ears. All they were aware of was the heat pounding on them, and their own thoughts of what might be happening to Hana.

The only one who seemed to be faring better than the others was Hot Rodder. He walked in back of them, casting a large shadow over the heads of the others to protect them as much as possible from the sun. Fado had given up on riding the Goron's shoulders and preferred to stay in the shadow with the others, even if that meant getting sand whipped into her face every other second.

They continued to trudge forward, desperate for water but knowing that they had to ration it. They didn't even really know where this library was, and therefore had no idea how long they would be out in the sandy terrain. It took a while for Tak to notice that he was suddenly back in the harsh sunlight, and longer still to realize that that meant Hot Rodder wasn't right behind them. He stopped and turned, holding out his hands to stop Grog and Fado before they wandered past him.

Blinking in surprise, Grog looked at him and then back to where Hot Rodder was standing a little ways off from them. "Hey, Rod, what's up?" Grog called, his voice hoarse and dry.

"It's not right," Hot Rodder said as he started to walk towards them. "We shouldn't leave her behind. I know you're in charge now, Tak, but still. It doesn't feel right. We never used to do things that didn't feel right before."

Tak sighed and wiped the sweat from his neck. "I know, but Hana would want us to keep going."

"You can't know that if she isn't here, goro."

"Oh come on, Rod. You know she would've. Does, I mean." He frowned at his own choice of words. "Let's find the library, quick as we can, and then charge that fortress. We'll all go back together, yeah?"

Feeling only slightly better, the others nodded. Their journey continued.

* * *

Hana screwed her eyes shut. It was much easier that way. The room was swirling around her, and there were images of her mother, father, her friends, and even Yorick flitting about in front of her. Ghosts. She wished Tak was here, he would've been so excited to finally see one. She giggled as she pictured Tak staring at his own ghost. Wait, that wasn't funny. Was it? Could someone have a ghost while still being alive? She scrunched her face up even more as she tried to figure that puzzle out.

"It certainly is... puzzling." Hana mumbled.

"What is?" the voice of Alya reached her ears.

"The puzzle. The puzzle is puzzling. A puzzling puzzle." Hana giggled again.

"Hana," Alya spoke slowly. "Tell me where your friends are."

Hana frowned; she hadn't remembered telling Alya her name. Maybe she was psychic? That would be pretty amazing. Wait, what was the question again? Her friends. "They're right there," Hana said, pointing to a corner of her cell. "Are you blind or something?"

"Then where _were_ you heading? Why did you want to get to the desert."

Ah, the desert. She had been trying to get there, hadn't she? Why was that again? Something about Zelda, and sages. Zelda. The icy blue eyes and confident expression flickered through Hana's mind and she quickly clapped her mouth shut.

"Hana?"

She threw her hands over her ears, ignoring the dull throbbing in her injured hand. Gritting her teeth together, Hana vowed that she wouldn't say anything until whatever this was passed. She would not fail Hyrule. She would not fail her team.

* * *

**Thanks a bunch for reading! **


	19. Chapter 19

**Thank you, rj703, for reviewing! I actually liked the desert crossing bit myself, but maybe that's just 'cause I really like the music in that area... ****Such a catchy tune!**

* * *

Chapter XIX

In which one of the Knights returns home...

Soft moonlight poured in through the windows of her cell. Hana was beginning to feel slightly more lucid now, even though she could still see flickers of the ghosts still. In fact, there was one of Tak right at that moment, climbing through one of the windows outside her cell. It seemed strange that he would have to do that, seeing as how he could have easily gone through a wall or something. That was, after all, what ghosts did.

"Hana?"

Strange; so far none of the other ghosts had talked to her. As this particular ghost drew closer, Hana noticed that he seemed more solid than the others, too. Solid Tak. No, that didn't sound very good. He did need some sort of nickname though, she decided. Although, Tak was sort of a nickname already. She watched with dull eyes as Tak the ghost began to work on picking the lock to her cell. A frown began to knit its way across her brow. Why was it picking the lock? It... wasn't a ghost?

"You idiot," Hana moaned as she scooted closer to the door. "You shouldn't have come back. Wasn't part of the plan." It was an effort to talk, her mouth felt like it had cotton stuffed into it.

"Sorry, Captain," Tak said quietly, finally getting the door open. "The others were being annoying about it, this was the only way to get them to shut up. Can you walk?"

Hana nodded. "Think so. Hand sort of hurts, though." Goddesses, why was she even telling him that now? It didn't matter at the moment, what mattered was not getting caught and escaping.

"Let me see." Tak knelt down next to her and carefully unwrapped her sloppy bandage.

"Doesn't feel too good," she mumbled.

"That's because it doesn't _look_ too good," Tak replied, obvious concern on his face as he stared at the wound. Normally Hana would notice this concern and feel worried herself, but at the moment she hardly realized that he was next to her at all. "Come on, Hana, let's get out of here." He rewrapped her hand and then helped her to her feet, quickly grabbing her by the arms when she nearly toppled over.

"I'm fine," Hana said, desperately trying to get her head to clear.

"What'd they do?" Tak asked, barely concealed anger causing his voice to shake.

Hana met his eyes. "I'm _fine_." Her voice came out clearer this time. Tak simply nodded and then helped her get to the window. He poked his head out and waved a hand through the air. A rope came sailing from the ground towards him. Snatching it deftly out of the air, he quickly turned and started to tie it around Hana's waist.

"How's that going to help?" Hana asked; maybe her head was still fuzzy, but for the life of her she couldn't imagine how a rope that was tied to the ground was going to help her climb down there safely.

"Just wait," Tak replied patiently.

Then Hana caught a glimpse of one of the Gerudo's pole arms fly past the window, the other end of the rope tied to it. With a clang it dug into the stone wall and remained above them. Tak tested it by giving it a few sharp tugs and then waved his arms towards the window with a flourish. "After you."

"I thought you didn't like heights," Hana grumbled as he helped her climb out. They remained perched on the sill for a moment; Hana could make out the dark silhouette of Hot Rodder below them, waiting to catch them in case the rope didn't hold.

"After you've forced me out over canyons and mountains, you honestly think I haven't gotten over that yet?"

"You weren't over it earlier when we went across the bridge," Hana countered.

"Hana, shut up."

He gave her a push, and Hana was soon falling down towards the ground. The rope snapped taut a few feet before she hit it. For a few seconds she simply swung there, but then Hot Rodder quickly began to untie her. Tak slid down the rope as soon as she was free.

Fado and Grog came running towards them. "Hana!" Fado whispered excitedly. "We found your armor and stuff!"

"Hold on to it for now, guys," Tak said. "Rod, give her a lift, will you?"

"I said I'm fine!" Hana protested, but Hot Rodder had already lifted her over his shoulder.

"Let's go. Nice and quiet like how we came," Tak whispered to the group.

She had to admit to herself, if no one else, that her legs had been feeling shaky from just the short amount of time she had spent standing on them. She prayed that her condition wasn't permanent, but for now it was nice that Hot Rodder was carrying her weight for her.

Along the way to the gate, they passed several Gerudo who had been knocked out. She would've reprimanded Tak for not trying to hide the obvious bodies better, but she was far too tired. Instead she mentally complained that Tak should be better at dealing with details like that, since he was so good at planning things. Then again, he was never very good with details when having to come up with a plan on the spot. That was usually where she came in.

A few hours passed, and they were still traveling. Hana was just about to drift off to sleep when they finally stopped. They were at a campsite; four tents and one giant tarp balanced on foldable poles lay side by side.

"Home sweet home," Tak commented. Fado raced into her tent and promptly disappeared while Hana was placed into her own.

"Hey, Fado, get back here!" Tak shouted. "You need to look at her hand."

Hana waved him off. "Let her sleep. We'll deal with it tomorrow."

"It doesn't look good, Hana," Tak replied with concern.

"A few more hours shouldn't make much a difference then, should it?" It was more of an order than a question. Tak and Grog looked at each other before giving up and retreating to their own tents. Hot Rodder curled into a ball under his tarp. In just a few minutes all five were asleep.

* * *

When Hana next woke up, it was because of a sharp burning sensation in her hand. She opened her eyes, yanking her hand closer to her and imagining that there was another sword stuck in it.

"Hey!" She heard the voice of Fado protesting. The familiar voice made her realize where she was. Her tent was billowing in the winds as they howled around it, and through the thin fabric she could make out large particles of sand swirling around outside. Sitting next to her, and surrounded by all sorts of strange ingredients, was Fado. The girl was glaring at her impatiently, and then Hana realized that she had been trying to fix her hand. A thick bandage was only half wrapped around it.

"I have to finish, or your hand will fall off!" Fado said, still annoyed over having her work interrupted.

"Sorry," Hana grumbled, sticking her hand back out. "What'd you put on that bandage? It stings like crazy."

"Stuff to make the infection go away. And to help the wound heal."

"So it will heal then?" Hana asked hopefully, watching as the rest of the bandage was wrapped up tightly.

"It should. Might be a bit stiff though."

"Great."

Tak suddenly stuck his head through the tent flap, his red hair tousled by the winds. "Hey, Captain! How're you feeling?"

Hana glared at him. "I thought we agreed we'd find the library first if we got separated."

Tak just shrugged and then a grin started to form on his face. "You're yelling at me! That means you're feeling better, right?"

Hana laughed; if felt nice to laugh. She stopped him as he started to leave again. "Hey, Tak... thanks for coming back."

"Anytime."

Fado sighed wearily as Tak left. "Yes, anytime. Even if it means going all the way back the way we'd came."

"You feeling alright, Fado?" Hana asked with concern.

"Of course I am! There, your hand's done. Don't move it for a few days."

"Got it, thanks."

She leaned back against her pillows and realized that it must still be early, as she could just make out the sound of Hot Rodder snoring over the loud winds. Shutting her eyes, she let a smile creep onto her face. It was nice to be home.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Hope y'all have a fun weekend! I myself am off to an anime convention with my bestest buddy, which should be interesting. First time we've ever been to one of those things so we'll probably end up lost and confused, which is how most of our trips usually turn out. **


	20. Chapter 20

**rj703, you were totally right about the anime con, it was a blast! Now my friend and I want to get costumes ourselves for the next one, lol! Oh, and thanks for reviewing :-)**

* * *

Chapter XX

In which the library is found...

"I'm telling you, I'm fine now!"

"And I'm telling you, you can't travel yet! You need to rest your hand!"

"I don't walk on my hands, Tak!"

Hana and Tak stood there, glaring at each other while the others worked around them, digging through the sand and trying to find a solid enough area for a fire to cook their breakfast with. The sand storm from earlier had passed, leaving behind a perfectly clear sky with which the sun was currently taking advantage of. Even though it was still fairly early, the sun already seemed to be much larger than usual, and it wasn't wasting any time on battering them with heat, either.

"Here we go!" Grog said cheerfully, trying to break the two out of their argument as he lit a fire. "Now we can cook!"

Hana sighed and sat down next to him. "You could probably just leave the food out; in this heat it'll be cooked faster than using a fire."

Hot Rodder laughed between gulps of his morning pile of rocks. "That's probably true, goro!"

Less than an hour later found them traversing across the desert once again. Hana had won the argument and was leading the way, deeper into the wastelands. They walked for hours with the sun roasting over head.

"It's too hot!" Fado screamed out, plopping down in the sand and refusing to budge.

"Let's take a break," Hana said, out of breath and feeling dizzy from the heat herself.

"It's this armor," Fado complained, trying to pull it away from her. She gave a surprised squeak as her fingers brushed over the metal. "That's hot, too! We're going to be cooked in our own clothes!" The others wondered if that was possible as the Kokiri suddenly began to laugh out loud about the thought.

"Maybe we should carry it separately," Grog suggested.

Hot Rodder was the only one able to grip their armor long enough to pull it off of them. Soon they were in just their tunics and loose trousers, all blue except for Fado, who had insisted on keeping her green clothes despite the Zoras insistence that blue was better.

"That does feel better," Tak said with relief, stuffing his armor into his pack.

"Hey, check that out." Hana pointed towards a red cloth that was wavering in the horizon, barely visible.

Tak shaded his eyes with a hand to see better. "What is that? Some sort of landmark?"

"No idea, but it's something to head towards. Let's get going, we should be able to make it there before dark."

Even though another sand storm rushed past them, they still made good progress and reached the strange cloth well before the sun began to set.

"It's a flag!" Hot Rodder observed, testing the pole that the cloth was tied to. "And there's another over there!"

Hana looked where he was pointing and spotted the second flag. "A trail?"

"Let's find out!" Tak replied excitedly, already moving towards the next flag.

Several more flags popped into view as they walked along, and as hope of finding the library rose in them their pace increased. Soon they reached the end of the trail, and a short, tower-like structure rose to greet them.

They stopped and stared at it disappointedly.

"That's sort of small for a library that's supposed to have the knowledge of sages in it," Tak said dejectedly.

"Maybe the sages aren't very knowledgable?" Fado suggested.

"Come on, at least it's a place to spend the night," Hana said. "It looks like it's cool in there, anyway."

With the promise of a cooler environment, Fado ran ahead and was soon entering the building way ahead of the others.

"Check it out, Hana," Tak said, stopping as they got closer. "Looks like there's an entrance there, and a walkway that leads up to the top of it."

"Let's check out the top then; Grog, Rod, go see what you can find inside. We'll join you in a bit."

"Right," Grog said as Hot Rodder just nodded.

It didn't take the two long to reach the top of the structure; the only thing they found there was a plaque that was of absolutely no use to them at all.

"The eye of truth? What does that even mean?" Hana asked with a glare directed towards the plaque.

"I don't know, but it also mentions a ghost, and an inviting one at that!"

"Tak, now is not the time for your obsessions," Hana replied distractedly as she ran a hand over the plaque, looking for something that may have been hidden somewhere.

"Maybe it's a riddle. But what does 'eye of truth' stand for?"

Hana kicked the plaque lightly, hoping to hear the sound of a secret compartment opening. "It says that that'll take you to some temple. We don't need that anyway."

"Hana!" Grog's voice drifted up to them. "You gotta see this!"

"That sounds more promising!" Hana commented as they quickly raced down towards the structure's entrance. They had to climb a long ladder down, but they were soon standing inside the cool air of an underground room.

"Check it out, goro." Hot Rodder, Grog, and Fado were all standing around one of the side walls, staring at something that Hana and Tak couldn't see. Shoving their way between the others, they found what had attracted the others so much. A few stones had fallen lose, and on the other side of the wall, from what they could see, appeared to be another room.

"Bash it open!" Tak said excitedly towards Hot Rodder. The Goron began to lift his fists when Hana quickly stopped him.

"We don't know how old this building is, if you start making bigger holes in it the whole thing might collapse! We need someone small enough to just squeeze in there."

Slowly, they all turned to look to Fado, who was peering through the hole with a bored expression on her face.

"What? _Me_? Oh fine, but if die in there it's all your fault!"

"You'll be fine, this place has been abandoned for a while now from the looks of it," Hana said encouragingly.

"Fine," Fado grumbled. She easily climbed through the hole and disappeared into the dark room.

"Everything ok?" Grog called out.

"It's dark in here!" Fado complained. "But yeah, there's no bad guys in here. Lots of piles of old furniture and stuff. I think this used to be an old Gerudo outpost, and they just stashed all their stuff in here for some reason."

They could hear the girl rummaging around through the hole.

"Hey, goro," Hot Rodder began, amusement suddenly sparkling in his eyes as he looked at Grog. "A few years ago you probably could've fit in there, too. You were so skinny!"

"Shut up, man!" Grog attempted to give the Goron a shove but ended up slipping on the stones and falling onto his back. "Ow..."

Hana hid her smile; it was probably true though. Over the years he'd been with them, he had filled out and now had a much healthier appearance.

"Ahha!" Fado's voice had everyone scurrying closer to the hole. "I've found something! It's some sort of gem thing! And here's something else! Too dark to see, but it's sort of squishy, and tall, and smells funny, and..."

A loud scream penetrated the air, and the others instantly recognized that noise.

"Redead!" Tak shouted at the same time that Hana hollered for Fado to get out of there.

There was a lot of clanging and sounds of the aforementioned piles of furniture collapsing. Then Fado came scrambling through the hole, the shriveled hand of the redead following her and grasping blindly for the Kokiri.

Tak quickly pulled out his sword and swung it down upon the hand. "Let's get this sealed, quick!"

Hot Rodder and Grog quickly filled the hole with the loose bricks and held them in place while Hana and Tak mixed up a cement like mixture with some of Fado's ingredients. They had no idea what the girl did to them that caused them to become healing poultices and the other things that she used to patch up any injuries the group had, as all they had managed to make with the stuff was the cement whenever they tried to recreate her potions.

The group worked together fluidly, and soon the redead was trapped behind the wall once again.

"That was close," Tak commented.

"Hey, Fado, you ok?" Grog asked, turning to look towards the girl.

Fado ignored them, instead looking at the gem she had discovered. It was a golden color, and it sparkled brilliantly even in the dim lighting offered underground.

"What is that?" Hana asked, kneeling next to Fado to get a closer look.

Fado shrugged and then threw it into the wall.

Everyone else shouted her name in surprise, but the gem had already shattered against the hard stone.

"Why'd you do that for?" Hot Rodder asked.

"I felt like it!" Fado said happily.

"But what if it was important?" Tak shouted in frustration. "What is wrong with you?"

"Leave her alone," Grog shouted back. "We don't know it was important!"

"Yeah, and now we never will!"

"Wait, listen," Hana said quickly, raising a hand to silence everyone. "Does anyone else hear that?"

"What?" Tak snapped.

"Shut up," Hana replied, straining her long ears.

"I think I hear something!" Fado said, jumping up from her sitting position. "A bird! But not like the forest birds. Something else."

Suddenly a strong gust of wind blasted through the hole above them; it filled the room and knocked everyone down, even Hot Rodder. Snapping back to their feet, they saw the figure of a gigantic owl standing before them. It tilted its head at them curiously, as if expecting one of them to say something.

"Hana," Tak hissed in her ear. "What do we do with this thing?" His hand strayed towards his sword, but Hana grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

"Who are you?" Hana asked.

"You're talking to a bird," Tak reminded her quietly, but fell silent when Hana shot him a look that just screamed 'obviously.'

The bird clacked his beak together a few times. "Me?" it asked, startling everyone. "Who are you? _You're_ the ones who called _me_!"

* * *

**Ahha! I put a secret room in that little tower thingy that Link has to go to during his trek in the desert. How fun is that? I very nearly made the guy who flies around on his magic carpet thing a part of the plot here, but then while I was writing it I realized I was starting to stray into my old parody-ing ways, and so I decided to change it to this. Hopefully it worked out! Thanks for reading, and if you have any complaints about anything now's the time to voice them! We've only got about ten chapters left!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Thanks, rj703, for reviewing yet again! Lol, yeah the redeads freaked me out, too; the first time I played OoT I would just throw the controller at my brother whenever those things popped up, and let him deal with them!  
Also, thanks to everyone else who is still reading, I really do appreciate all of you spending your time on reading my story, it means a lot to me!**

**Anyways, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter XXI

In which a prophecy is revealed...

"A talking bird!" Fado exclaimed as everyone else just stared in shock at the large owl standing in front of them with a clearly annoyed expression on its face.

"Oh for Hyrule's sake," the owl muttered. "_Yes_, I can talk. Now I do have other places I have to be, so if you could get to the point, please."

Hana quickly snapped out of her awe. "We're looking for a library around here. Would you happen to know where it might be?"

"Library? There's nothing like that here. You think the Gerudo have time for a library when they're so busy with their conquests and temples?"

"But... but we were told there was," Hot Rodder said disappointedly. "It's supposed to contain information on who the sages are." He realized what he had revealed only after Tak gave him a sharp - yet barely felt by him - kick in the leg.

The owl sighed wearily. "Don't worry, I'm not an ally of Ganondorf. But, there is no library with that information anywhere in the world." He gazed down at their expressions and then fluffed out his feathers. "That's not to say this was a waste of your time. I happen to know who the sages are!"

"You?" Hana asked doubtfully.

The owl bent down and turned his head to the side, peering with one of his eyes into the girl's own. "Don't let appearances guide you. Yes, me. I wonder though, if I can trust you with this information?"

Fado quickly stepped forward. "Of course you can! We're the Knights of Hyrule!"

The owl straightened out and clacked his beak together again. "Indeed? You certainly have the same spirit they had. And... it would help him if someone in this world knew where to find them." He ignored them when they asked who 'he' was. "Very well! Pay attention, I'm only going to tell you this once. _Don't_ make me regret it. One, in a forest, another, on a mountain, the third, under a lake, another in the house of the dead, the last, inside the goddess of the sand. It is imperative that you do not reveal to anyone who has told you this; it would attract too much attention to myself, and I need to be able to roam these lands freely."

"Sorry, but, you just said where we can find them, not who they are," Hana said.

"Don't be so greedy; you're lucky I told you anything at all! The sages must not be found by the wrong people."

Tak spoke up indignantly. "We're not going to tell the enemy!"

"You are also the wrong people. You do not posses the ability to awaken them, neither does anyone else on this world. Not yet, anyway. Give this information to your leader; she will know what to do with it when the right person arrives. Remember, you must not mention me to anyone but her - Zelda can be the only one to know who told you all this. But if anyone else asks..."

"Don't mention you," Hana finished. "We understand. We'll just say we found some old prophecy or something."

"That sounds reasonable," the owl replied. "Now, prepare yourselves!"

"For what?" Tak and Grog asked at the same time, just as a blue light began to surround them.

"What is this!?" Hana shouted, but the owl soon disappeared, along with the building they had been in. The light grew too bright for them to bare. Shutting her eyes tightly, Hana tried to ignore the feeling that she was falling from somewhere very high up. While it is a very hard feeling to ignore, she did a good job of pretending that she was still standing on solid ground. That is, until she suddenly came crashing down onto the ground. Her knees gave out as her feet hit the dusty surface, forcing her to throw her hands out to catch herself. A sharp pain in her hand made her bite her lip to keep from crying out.

Carefully, she stood up and opened her eyes. The rest of her team was there, just beginning to stand up as well.

"Where are we?" Tak asked, looking around. Their packs were all in a neat little pile nearby, and Hana found herself wondering why they weren't more scattered since they had been practically dropped at the place they were now standing in. The sound of a river not too far off reached their ears and, turning, they saw the bridge that ran over Gerudo Valley.

"We're back!" Tak said happily. "I don't know what that owl did, but we don't have to go back through the fortress!"

"Hooray!" Fado cheered happily, masking Hana's painfully relieved sigh.

An unfamiliar voice interrupted their happy moment. "Ah, hooray, hooray. Shut up, will you? Some people are trying to work here!"

The group turned around again to see the boss of the carpenters glaring at them from beside a large tent that had been set up.

"What are you doing here?" Grog asked, his voice sounding more tense than it usually did.

The older man didn't even seem to notice Grog as he waved his hands through the air with an annoyed flourish. "Some damn idiots broke down the gate to the desert up at the fortress, and we got hired to fix it. I told 'em that we're carpenters, not iron workers, but they seemed insistent. My workers are all excited about meeting Gerudo, the idiots." He turned and shouted into the tent. "Come on already, let's get moving! And remember, don't bother them or you'll probably end up in their jail. We work, and that's it! And tell that idiot Running Man that it's not much safer here than it is out on the field." The large man gave an annoyed growl under his breath and then faced the others once again. "Oh look, here comes some Gerudo now! Must've been attracted by that pretty blue light you guys flew in on."

They looked to where he was pointing and saw that there were a group of Gerudo guards running down the hill towards them.

"Get across the bridge, now!" Hana shouted. They were completely unprepared for a fight; they still hadn't even managed to get their armor out of their bags.

They had a good head start, but they were still tired from their long trek through the desert. Halfway across the bridge Hana noticed that their pace was unacceptably slow. Even if they did make it across in time, the Gerudo would overtake them out on the field. Desperate to seperate them from the oncoming guards, Hana reached over her shoulder and gripped her sword. The movement in her hand felt slow and stiff; after a longer time than seemed necessary, she managed to get a good grip around the hilt and draw her sword. Tak copied the movement almost immediately.

"What's the plan, Captain?"

"We're cutting the bridge," Hana replied plainly.

"Oh." Tak sounded uncertain, probably because they were currently still standing on the bridge, which was the only thing separating them from a long drop down to the river.

As they ran they held their swords out and cut several of the ropes that held the string of wooden planks up. The bridge began to swing even more under their feet, and then they finally felt it start to fall. With a final leap they made it across the rest of the way, landing safely on the other side.

The Gerudo stopped short before they fell, cursing at them from across the canyon. Fado stuck her tongue out at them before joining the others as they slipped into their armor.

"Ok, now we just have to get to the ranch to pick up our horses, and then it's straight to Zora's Domain," Hana said, pulling her hair out from under her armor and wincing as a few strands got stuck between the metal links.

"That's all," Tak said jovially.

The moods of everyone in the group had improved now that they were back in cooler air, and despite the fact that they still had a long march through dangerous territory they hardly acted as if they were in any danger at all. The Hylians of the group chatted away amiably about getting some of Malon's special recipe soup before they went to the Domain, while Fado and Hot Rodder held a shoving contest to see who was stronger. The Goron promptly won this contest when Fado was sent flying into some nearby bushes.

"Careful, Rod," Hana reprimanded, instantly becoming aware of what the others were up to. "How many times do I have to tell you to ignore her when she says she's stronger?"

"Sorry, goro. She just says it with such conviction, I get worried it's true."

Grog quickly pulled the Kokiri from the bushes and sighed at her as she began to giggle.

"I flew!" she said happily.

"We're close to the ranch now," Tak commented as they continued on. "Does anyone else notice that there's sort of no one else out here?"

"Yeah, it's weird," Hana said. "Maybe they all went into the desert to look for us."

"Ha!" Grog laughed. "That would be quite a bit of luck for us! That means they're all trapped out there until the bridge is fixed!"

They thought about this for a while before stopping and looking at each other.

"Lucky? It probably didn't happen then," Fado said finally. The others nodded in agreement and then left to complete their journey to the ranch.

The closer they got to their destination, the stronger they felt a sense of urgency and dread about them. Dark storm clouds began to circle overhead, and distant peals of thunder shook above them. Just as they were about to enter the ranch, Malon came rushing out to meet them.

"Hey, Malon!" Tak greeted. "Looks like a storm's coming, doesn't it?"

"You..." Malon stopped in front of them, bending over in an attempt to catch her breath. "You have to leave!" She looked up at them and her face was flushed from running.

"What's going on?" Hana asked.

"It's Ingo! He's joined with Ganondorf! After you left, and your horses came back, I guess Ganondorf didn't just ignore them when he saw they were a decoy like we thought he would. He even kicked Dad out. Please, just get out of here before Ingo sees you and reports you!"

"You should come with us," Hana said quickly.

Malon shook her head, fear in her eyes. "I'm staying; someone has to look after the horses properly. Just go, I'll be fine!"

She turned around sharply and ran back to the ranch when they heard Ingo calling her and asking where she had gone.

"We can't just go!" Tak said.

"We need to get our information to Sheik," Hana replied, but her expression matched the others'. This was their fault; it was because of them that the ranch was now lost to them. "Come on."

They ran then, straight towards Zora's Domain. They were running out of places to hide. Hana couldn't help but think back to what Fado had said earlier. Luck never happened to them. The only thing that really worried Hana was the way the girl had said it, almost as if she didn't even care anymore.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! **


	22. Chapter 22

**Thanks, rj703, for reviewing! Have a dessert item of your choice! :-D**

* * *

Chapter XXII

In which things become too cucco-ish...

As it turned out, Hana was not the only one concerned over Fado's recent nonchalant attitude towards things that shouldn't be looked at nonchalantly. The group was camped alongside the river that flowed from Zora's Domain. They had wanted to rush ahead straight to the Zoras, but, knowing they had to be cautious, they had decided to wait to make sure nothing was following them and visit King Zora in the morning. At the moment, Hana was being visited by Grog and Fado's fairy, and she wasn't liking what she was hearing one bit.

"Fado's sick," the little fairy said. It was the first time Hana had ever heard the tiny creature say anything; usually she hovered close to Fado and any conversations they had together were whispered so no one else was able to hear what was being said.

"What do you mean by sick?" Hana asked.

"Kokiri are not meant to be away from the forest for so long. She thought she could handle it, but being in the desert expedited things. It was just too far away."

Hana rubbed a hand over her face as Grog started to speak. "We all saw her changing, we just didn't want to notice." His voice held barely contained anger.

"Alright, so we get her back to the forest then," Hana said confidently. "She'll be fine then, right?"

The fairy's wings drooped low. "I don't really know. The Great Deku Tree used to always warn us to never let the Kokiri leave, but I was like Fado; we got too old, and forgot. We thought it wouldn't be as bad as it is. We are dealing with an affliction of the mind, and even the wisest of healers has very limited knowledge of those things."

"So what do you suggest?" Hana asked.

"Mido will know what to do. He's the oldest."

"Good, then we'll go there as soon as we've finished with the Zoras." Hana thought that that would be the end of it, and she expected the two to leave. Fado's fairy did seem content with that answer, but Grog was now glaring at her. "What?"

"You're serious? We have to go to the forest right away!"

"No," Hana said calmly. "We have to get the information to the Zoras, so they can get it to Sheik. This is incredibly important, Grog. Besides, once we get to the Domain, we'll be right near the passage that leads to the forest anyway."

"But... you... that's not right!" Grog's voice got increasingly louder the longer he spoke. "This group used to be different, _we_ used to be different! Not too long ago, we cared more about each other than anything else! What's happened?"

"Grog, the fate of Hyrule depends on-"

"Don't give me that. Fado deserves our attention right now. We should've given it earlier, we should've known something was wrong sooner, and then maybe she wouldn't be as bad as she is. We... you're our leader! You should've payed more attention to her! You're disgusting."

Hana blinked in surprise, but before she could find something to say in response to that, Grog had stormed out of the tent, followed closely by the fairy.

"Grog!" she heard Tak shouting from outside her tent. "You can't leave now, it's pitch black out there!"

"I know how to find my way to the forest!" Grog shouted back. "I'm taking Fado there now, before she dies."

Hana listened in shock, uncertain on what to do as the footsteps of Grog and Fado faded into the distance and were quickly covered by the sounds of the river. Finally she snapped out of her stupor and scrambled out of her tent. Tak and Hot Rodder were standing outside as well, staring in the direction that Grog and Fado had left.

"What do we do?" Tak asked her.

"Let them go," Hana replied quietly. "He's right. I should've noticed."

"Nobody noticed," Hot Rodder said gently.

"I think that's the point." Hana swiftly returned to her tent and rechecked her pack. They still had to meet with King Zora.

* * *

"Don't worry, Fado, you'll be back at the forest in no time!" Grog commented, trying to keep his voice cheerful. "How are you feeling?"

"I'd feel better if you'd stop asking me that every five seconds," the girl snapped.

"Right, sorry."

Fado stopped short and stared up at the Hylian. "I just... can't feel anything. And I know I should. I should've been worried about Hana when she was captured, I should've treated her hand right away, and I... but I just don't. It scares me that I don't."

"Hey, there you go! You know you should care, so that's a good sign still!"

"I guess. Oh look, Lizalfos."

Grog snapped his head up and saw the troop of creatures as well; there were at least four, and they were racing towards them with their torches held high.

"Great," Grog muttered. "Stay back, I got this."

Fado giggled. "There's too many, we won't survive."

Grog gritted his teeth together and readied his sword. The Lizalfos came upon him quickly, leaping about and screeching at each other in their own language. He did his best to keep up with the four blades that were swirling about him, but he wasn't used to fighting alone. This was a realization that quickly dawned on him when he nearly got skewered by one that had managed to jump in back of him.

Two of them swung their blades at him together, but he quickly blocked it with his shield. Then, with a start, he realized that he couldn't see the other two. Turning sharply, he just barely managed to block another attack to his back. Fado was standing a short distance off, plucking at her slingshot dejectedly. Forced to swing around again to protect himself from the first two Lizalfos, Grog recognized that he wouldn't be able to survive this battle much longer. He became even more disgusted with himself; he couldn't even get his friend back home safely.

One of the Lizalfos managed to hit Grog's sword hard enough that the blade went flying out of his hand. He shut his eyes as the lizard quickly raised his sword again, this time aiming for the man's neck. The blow never came, but instead Grog heard the Lizalfos' blade clash against another metal object. Opening his eyes, he came face to face with Hana, who was kneeling next to him with her shield protecting the both of them.

Next Tak came into view, along with Hot Rodder, and together the four of them didn't let a single one of the Lizalfos escape.

Hot Rodder grinned at Grog. "You should've seen Hana go, goro! She was faster than me this time!"

Grog looked to Hana, who was wiping her blade on the grass. "What about the Zoras?"

Hana shrugged casually. "Sheik can wait." She met his green eyes. "You were right, this is more important."

Grog nodded and then ran to fetch Fado. Holding tightly to her hand to offer as much encouragement as he could, he followed the others as they led the way to the forest.

* * *

"What happened!?" Mido seemed to catch on that something was wrong almost immediately. He soon had his hat in his hands and was twisting it around tightly as he listened to Fado's fairy recount what had happened. "I told you!" Mido pointed at Hana. "I told you not to let her go with you, now look at what happened!" Stepping closer to Fado, he peered anxiously into her eyes. "She's got it bad, too."

"How long will it take for her to recover?" Tak asked. "I mean, like a couple of days, or what?"

"Recover?" Mido spat. "There's no way of telling if she'll do that!" He let Fado snatch his hat from his hands and watched as she began to untwist it carefully.

"But she's back in the forest!" Hana said.

"Oh, yes, how observant of you, Miss Smarty Pants."

Hot Rodder stepped in before Hana could start an argument with the Kokiri. "Have you ever dealt with this before?"

Mido scowled. "Once. A long time ago, one Kokiri decided to leave. He came back all messed up. Even the Great Deku Tree couldn't do anything for him."

"Did he recover?" Grog asked quietly.

Mido looked at Fado and his expression softened. "A little. He became more aware of what was going on, and realized that deku seeds aren't meant for eating... but that was about it."

"Was?" Grog croaked out.

"Yes, was," Mido snapped, looking back to the others. "He died a few years later. But, Fado doesn't seem quite _as_ bad. She might make it. She won't be the same though."

The words struck them harder than any blade ever could. Hana felt tears rushing to choke her, but she quickly pushed them back. Turning to Fado, she placed her hands on the other girl's shoulders and knelt down so they were at eye level.

"Fado, I am so sorry."

Fado looked up at her, her expression serious. Slowly, the Kokiri reached towards Hana's face, towards the single tear that was rolling down the Hylian's face. Then she grabbed at Hana's nose and pulled on it gently. "Got your nose!" she said happily, giggling over her ability to take other people's noses.

"Where's Saria?" Tak asked despondently. Hana stood up and wiped at her face before turning her attention to Mido.

"Trying to find a way to break the curse on the temple herself," Mido replied, gently accepting his hat when Fado offered it back to him. "She said she wants to be ready for when the right time comes. Whatever that's supposed to mean. She's been gone for a few days now; I haven't heard from her in all that time."

"We have to get going now," Hana cut in. "We need to report to Zelda. As soon as we've done that, we're coming back here. I don't care what Zelda says, and I don't care if Ganondorf's powers really are weaker when he has to keep up that curse, we're clearing out this forest."

Mido looked at her, the beginnings of hope working its way across his face. "You sure?"

"Yes." Hana left no room for questioning. Turning abruptly, Hana marched towards the passage that led to Goron City. "But first, I think we deserve a day's rest back home."

"Seriously?" Tak asked excitedly.

"Seriously," Hana answered.

Tak and Hot Rodder looked at each other and then slapped one another's hands in a high five, which sent Tak stumbling into a tree.

"I'm not going," Grog said.

"What?" Hana stopped walking.

"I'm going to stay here with Fado."

Mido bit his lip. "Adults staying in the forest is just as dangerous for them as it is for a Kokiri to leave the forest."

"I don't care. I'm staying. I won't leave her like this."

Fado giggled. "You're going to turn into a monster! I warned you before about that!"

"Grog," Hana began, but Grog cut her off.

"I know what I'm doing."

She hesitated for a long while before finally nodding. "Alright. Good luck. Take care of her."

"I will."

Mido led them to the tunnel that led to the Goron's home. "You guys sure are stubborn, you know that? It's really annoying."

* * *

**Merci beaucoup... for reading! I'm so good with other languages, I mix and match them! Muhahaha! Anyway... I have a short announcement to make: Next week I'm thinking of taking off from updating, because I want to focus on studying for midterms. Sorry for the short notice, but I'll start updating again the week after next (after Friday's update, of course, I'm not skipping that one). **

******Au revoir **for now!


	23. Chapter 23

**Thanks for the review and the luck, rj703! :-D**

* * *

Chapter XXIII

In which the others return home...

"Ah, so wonderful to be home!" Hot Rodder said happily. The mountain was still filled with the deafening sounds of the Gorons forging armor for themselves, and the ground shook beneath their feet from the constant, rhythmic pounding.

"Knights!" boomed a familiar voice. They looked down to see Darunia outside his room, beaming up at them. "Long time no see!"

"Hi, Chief!" Hot Rodder called down.

"Get down here, I've been waiting for you to visit again. I have something for you, brother!"

Shrugging, Hot Rodder quickly rolled down the path towards his leader. Hana and Tak followed as quickly as they could. Once inside Darunia's room, they spotted a large pile of armor that shone with a red hue.

"Goron armor!" Hot Rodder said in awe. "And it's in my size!"

"You have no idea how long it took to get enough materials for it," Darunia said. "It took almost two years to finish, but I think it was worth it. Every one of Hyrule's knights deserves some good armor."

Hot Rodder was about to respond when a tiny Goron came rushing into the room.

"Oh! This is my son! Link!" Darunia's face beamed with pride as the little Goron waved shyly.

Hana waved back. "I didn't know you were even married, Darunia," she commented.

The Goron chieftain laughed loudly and gave her shoulder a good solid thump, which sent her collapsing to the ground. "How long are you going to stay here?" Darunia asked.

"We're taking a day or two off. A lot's happened," Hana responded grimly as she picked herself up off the ground stiffly.

Tak nodded. "Yeah, but we're off to Kakariko Village. Rod's probably going to stay though."

"You bet!" Hot Rodder said, still unable to pull his eyes away from the thick armor.

Hana and Tak bade their farewells and promised to return soon. After that they climbed down the mountain. By late evening, they were standing right outside Kakariko Village.

"Home!" Tak breathed happily. "It's been so long!"

"Over five years now. Closer to six, actually."

"Feels longer. Oh look, they _still_ haven't even fixed the well."

"That things been dried out since I got here. Oh well, see you in a bit?" Hana watched as Tak raced off towards his house, not even bothering to respond. She rolled her eyes before heading towards her own house, tugging her sleeve over the deep scar on her hand absentmindedly as she went.

The familiar smells of chimney smoke and fresh bread greeted her the deeper she walked into the village, and soon they completely overtook the fresh mountain air. She didn't really know what sort of reception to expect from her mother; a small part of her suspected that the older woman would attempt to ground her again for being away from home for so long. The rest of her was too worried about what she herself would say to even think about what her mother would do.

The inside of the house was just the same as it always was, and the fact that nothing had changed gave Hana such a strong pang of nostalgia that she nearly managed to convince herself that she was still a little girl looking forward to another day of chasing after Yorick. A clatter of dishes dropping and shattering against the floor brought her attention back to the present. Her mother was standing at the other end of the room, surrounded by shard of broken plates and staring at her with her mouth agape.

"Hana?"

Her mother looked exactly the same as she had the last time Hana had seen her, save for a few more strands of grey in her hair. The sight of her mother sent all her ideas on what she would say to her flying out of her mind. Instead Hana just ran forward and fell into her mother's open arms before sobbing into the older woman's shoulder.

"I messed up, Mom," Hana choked out as memories of Fado began to overwhelm her. "I lost one and it's all my fault."

* * *

"Here, drink this tea, you'll feel better."

Hana accepted the warm drink from her mother. As the warm liquid ran down her throat, Hana began to forget about everything that had had her so upset just a few minutes ago. That is, until her mother brought up more old memories.

"Why are you so tan? Where were you, the desert!? Why didn't you wear a hat? You look like a Gerudo!"

Hana winced at the idea, and tried to ignore the flashes of memories that involved Alya as they rushed through her mind.

"Hana," her mother began, more quietly this time. "Why are you still doing this? You could die. Please just stay home."

"I can't. Not until Ganondorf is dead."

Her mother sighed in frustration. "How do you expect to manage that? His forces get stronger every day."

"So do we," Hana retorted, staring into her tea and not meeting her mother's eyes.

"Not strong enough. You can't defeat an army of hundreds, you just can't. It's impossible."

Hana frowned. "What makes you say that? Haven't you been paying attention to what we're doing out there? We win more and more battles every day!"

"Hana, think rationally for just one second here. There's what? Three of you now? Against an army."

"Hyrule needs us."

"Hyrule is dead, Hana! Just let it go!"

Hana stood up abruptly. "And do what!? Obey Ganondorf? He kills anyone who even _thinks_ about disagreeing with him!"

"Oh don't be so dramatic."

"I'm not being dramatic! I've seen it!"

Hana's mother opened her mouth to say something in response, but she never got the chance to say whatever she had been intending to say. Hana watched as her mother seemed to notice something behind her, and the color in the older woman's face suddenly began to drain and leave behind a sickly looking pallor. Turning sharply around, Hana found herself staring out of a window and looking at a Stalfos as he crept past, heading towards the door.

"The house is being watched," Hana stated quietly.

Her mother shifted uncomfortably. "Hana, please, just agree to stay home with me and they'll leave us alone! They promised!"

A sickening feeling settled in Hana's stomach as she turned around to face her mother. "You _knew_?"

"Ganondorf promised that if you tell them you'll just stay here, he'll let you live! I just want you to live, Hana!"

"He lied," Hana responded abruptly, standing up and moving towards her sword and shield that she had left on a chair.

"You don't know that."

"Actually, I do. He doesn't let people who he thinks have betrayed him live."

"But-"

Hana yanked her sleeve down so it no longer covered her hand. "_This_ is what they do!" she shouted while her mother covered her mouth with her hands in shock. "He lied to you; he would never let me or any of the others live!"

Hana quickly grabbed her sword and shield before striding over towards the door. She nearly managed to grip the handle before she saw it beginning to turn without her influence. Cursing under her breath, Hana flung her body into the door just as the Stalfos tried to swing it open. There was an angry grunt from outside before the skeleton began to push harder at the door. As her feet began to slide along the well polished floor, Hana found herself hating, not for the first time, her mother's insistence on everything being kept perfectly clean.

"Here!" Hana's mother quickly moved forward, holding tightly to a chair. Not acknowledging her mother's sudden change of opinion, Hana quickly took it from the older woman's shaking hands and lodged it under the knob.

"Let's try the window," Hana said, already moving towards one of the windows. "We need to get out of here before more of them come." She stopped as she saw several more Stalfos running towards the house, swords already drawn. Then there was a scraping noise in back of her. The chair had slipped. Quickly moving back to her mother, Hana readied her sword as the door swung open.

"No, Hana, get out of here!" Hana's mother shouted as the Stalfos slowly stepped inside, the others lurking in back of it.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not leaving you here."

A gentle hand squeezed at Hana's shoulder, and the young girl looked to see her mother gazing at her with sadness in her eyes.

"You have your thing to protect. I have mine."

Hana was ready with a retort, and she was just about to say it before charging into the growing mob of Stalfos, when her mother suddenly gripped her hand and pressed it tightly. A flare of pain shot from her hand through her arm, and out of sheer surprise Hana felt her grip on her sword loosen. Then her sword was out of her hand completely, leaving her grasping at air as her mother clutched the weapon in pale hands.

"Give that back!" Hana shouted.

"They won't kill me. Go find your friend before it's too late."

Tak. Hana glanced back towards the window and saw a few more Stalfos running past the house but not stopping at the door along with the others. They were after them both.

"Go, Hana!"

Hana was torn for only a split second. She had a decision to make, and she was used to making them. She knew her mother was right; the Stalfos wouldn't kill her if they saw their target was gone... probably, _hopefully_; and Tak, her closest friend to whom she owed a lot, perhaps even her life, was in danger. She left. Turning around, Hana charged towards the window and crashed through it, towards the Stalfos stationed outside. The monsters were taken by surprise by her sudden appearance through the window, leaving her with enough time to catch her balance and begin to run towards the graveyard before the Stalfos could even react.

* * *

When she arrived at the dark, quiet area nestled right outside the village, Hana spotted Tak in the midst of leaving Dampe's house. The old man was walking alongside him and pointing towards something in the distance.

"I'm telling you, brat, it's a ghost!" Dampe said cheerfully.

Tak peered into the darkness just as Hana reached them, panting heavily. "You're making it up, lousy old man, I don't see anything. What's up, Hana?" Tak frowned when he noticed his friend. "Where's your sword?"

Hana gripped her friend by his arm. "Stalfos."

The one word was enough, and Tak quickly unsheathed his own sword. "Get back inside, Dampe," Tak ordered before he and Hana turned to leave.

"Hey, look out!"

Dampe's urgent voice forced the both of them to freeze. Quickly glancing back, they spotted a Stalfos up on the cliff above them, his arms stretched in a position that they instantly recognized. He had a bow.

"Take cover!" Hana shouted. She heard the twang of the bowstring, but couldn't see the arrow itself in the thick darkness that surrounded them. Somehow, in a way that Hana would never be able to comprehend, Dampe did see it. In a moment of limberness, Dampe leaped out of his own hiding spot and in front of the two Knights.

Tak shouting his name was the last thing Dampe the Gravekeeper heard before the sharp bolt pierced through him.

"Hang in there," Tak said as he put his hands over the wound; the feathered end was barely visible, the arrow had sunk so deep into the old man.

"Lousy brats," Dampe coughed out, watching as Hana quickly covered all three of them as best she could with her shield. "Quit taking your time and go save Hyrule already."

"Tak, we gotta get out of here," Hana said, yanking her arm up when an arrow glanced off the very top of her shield and nearly fell onto her.

"We're not leaving him, Hana," Tak growled.

Hana looked back and saw Dampe's eyes were already glazed over and staring blankly up at the cloud covered sky. "Tak... he's gone."

The younger man let his hands slip off of Dampe's body.

"Come on, we need to leave."

Ducking under their shields, Hana and Tak made a blind run for Death Mountain. They left Dampe where he had fallen, tucked behind a gravestone and laying on the grounds he had taken care of almost his entire life.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! **


	24. Chapter 24

**I have returned! And I survived midterms! Hooray! So before I begin the chapter, let me just send a big thanks to rj703 for reviewing! You rock! ...Do people still say that? Well, anyway, on with the chapter!**

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Chapter XXIV

In which the Knights plan a vacation...

In much the same way that whey had spent their first few days together, Hana and Tak were once again sitting together near the graveyard. The only difference this time was that they were sitting up on the cliffs, out of sight of the small group that was gathered beneath them.

Dampe's funeral was short, and nobody there had known him well enough to really say anything. Hana and Tak waited until the group left before they climbed down and stood before their friend's gravestone.

Tak knelt down and plucked at a few strands of grass that were already beginning to look too long and unkempt without Dampe's constant care.

"I'm sorry, Tak." Hana knew it wasn't enough, but then again what else could she say? The man had been like a second father to her friend, although he never would have admitted it back then. She had seen it though; the way Dampe would smile more when Tak was around, and when they would insult each other - never seriously, like it was a fun competition to see who could come up with the best insult. Even she felt like screaming at the goddesses, at the unfairness of the world and that he deserved to live. But he was gone.

Tak stood up again and peered up at the early morning sun. "We should never have come back here. Every time we try to stay somewhere it just ends up getting into more trouble. Like the ranch..."

Hana felt a pang of regret, which quickly evolved into guilt. She was the leader - the captain - of her team and she should've made sure that things were safe before she allowed them to go back home. She should've made sure the ranch was protected. Her mind raced to pick out even more things that she had messed up on, and she began to wonder why the others had wanted her to be captain in the first place.

"Did you check on your mother?" Tak asked solemnly.

Hana nodded, and her hand drifted over to her sword that she had managed to retrieve. "She's fine; she's still being watched, but she managed to throw my sword out so I could get it back."

They continued to stand near the old man's gravestone, both buried under their own thoughts. Hana had to fight the urge to go running back home again and just hide under her blanket to pretend that none of this had happened, that Dampe was still alive, Fado was perfectly fine, and her home was still a safe place to go to.

But she couldn't go home, and so she stood up abruptly and started to walk towards Death Mountain.

Tak watched her go. "Where are you off to?"

"I'm going to report what we know to the Zoras."

"I wonder..."

Hana sighed when he drifted off without finishing his thought. "What?"

"I wonder what they'll want us to do next."

Hana frowned; their next mission. She hadn't even thought of that. They had spent so many long years trying to find out who the sages were that she hadn't even realized there would be more to do after that.

Hana hesitated and then smiled. "Maybe we'll get a vacation."

Tak laughed dryly. "That'll be the day."

"Then... maybe we'll just take one anyway."

Tak glanced at her doubtfully. "Can we do that?"

"Why not? We did our job, we got the information about the sages. Now it's up to Sheik and Link, if the lazy fellow ever decides to show up."

Tak gave a weak grin, but Hana was relieved to see that a small spark of amusement remained in his eyes even after the smile faded. "He is pretty lazy, right? I mean, what has he been doing this whole time? Sleeping, probably, while we do all the work for him."

Hana chuckled and then started to leave. "I'll be back before you know it!"

"Oh no you don't!" Tak shouted, running after her. "I'm coming, too! I want to see this through to the end, and besides, I know you; you'll probably go running off to clear out Kokiri Village on your own or something, as some sort of last mission for yourself."

"The thought did cross my mind," Hana replied casually as they started back up the mountain.

"I knew it," she heard him grumble from behind her.

* * *

"Back so soon, I see!" Darunia greeted them as they entered his city. "That was a short couple of days, Hylians. I hope you haven't forgotten how to measure time!" The Goron burst into laughter at that last statement.

"What are you doing back so soon?" Hot Rodder asked.

"Whoa!" Tak shouted. "Rod, you look awesome!"

Hana raised an eyebrow as she surveyed her friend. The Goron was dressed in thick, red colored metal plates. Only the chest piece had been painted a different color; it was covered with a blue background, and the symbol of the Knights had been added on top. Painted directly above their symbol was the emblem that represented the Goron race. Hana felt a smirk growing on her face; the Gorons just couldn't resist adding their own flare to things that didn't even belong to them.

"Can you even move in that?" Hana asked with amusement.

"Of course I can, goro! I can even roll still! We Gorons know how to make armor right, that's for sure! But anyway, why are you back so soon?"

Tak answered him. "Hana decided she wants to tell the Zoras what we know now, and then we'll clear out the forest."

"Ok. Then what?"

Hana smiled. "Then that's it."

"That's it?" Hot Rodder looked at her in confusion.

"That's it," both she and Tak responded.

"We're taking a leave of absence!" Tak added.

"We did what Zelda ordered us to do. We're done," Hana further explained. "At least, until Link returns to finally defeat Ganondorf."

"But who knows when that will be!" Hot Rodder protested, much to the Hana's surprise; she had thought that he was just as tired as the rest of them. "I thought we would keep trying to return Hyrule back to normal ourselves."

"We will," Hana insisted. "We just... let's take a break for now. Fado still needs to recover first anyway."

"Ah, I see. Alright then. Let's go to Zora's Domain! You know, now that I think about it, it'll be nice to go into hiding for a while, and be able to sleep without worrying about getting attacked."

"That's the spirit!" Hana replied as they returned to the forest.

"That armor won't rust, will it?" Tak asked as they got ready to go through the underwater tunnel to the Zoras.

"Of course not!" Hot Rodder exclaimed, sounding honestly surprised over the notion. "What sort of armor would that be?"

Tak simply shrugged before leaping into the water after Hana, who had already dove in. They were greeted by a Zora guard, who easily recognized the group and opened the waterfall for them to pass through. As soon as they stepped inside the peaceful domain, they were met by a much older looking Princess Ruto.

"You guys have amazing timing!" she said cheerfully, already beginning to pull Hana towards the throne room without even explaining herself. She noticed the confused glare being directed towards her and then quickly realized her lack of manners. "Right," she said awkwardly, releasing Hana's arm and turning to face the group. "Sheik's here."

"He's _here_?" Hana asked, surprised that the Sheikah had risked coming out of hiding.

Ruto nodded. "Yes, he got here just a few hours before you did. He's talking to my father right now, something about needing help with something. You'd better hurry, or you'll miss it!" Once again Ruto was pulling Hana along, but this time she willingly kept up with the princess' fast pace.

Sheik's red eyes opened in surprise when he saw the Knights. "You're back!" he exclaimed. He couldn't help but notice that there were only three now, and their appearance was much different from the last time he had seen them. They were older, certainly, and their eyes perhaps looked much older than they should given their actual age, but it was the various numbers of thin scars that Sheik could see on them. He spotted one particularly deep one on Hana's sword hand and couldn't help but wince as he tried to imagine what had created such a scar.

"We know where the sages are located," Hana said quickly, bringing Sheik out of his thoughts. "But what are you doing out of hiding?"

"I... it's Impa. She's been captured by Ganondorf."

"_What_?" all three Knights exclaimed at once.

"Knights, she is a sage and she must be rescued immediately!"

Hana realized, with a sudden flicker of fear, what Zelda was going to say next.

"You have to infiltrate Ganondorf's castle and find her before it's too late! Please!" The princess in disguise frowned when she was met with silence. "What are you waiting for?"

"Sheik," Hana began quietly. "Can I talk to you for a minute please? In private."

"I suppose," Sheik answered doubtfully before leading the way to a more private area.

"Zelda, please," Hana started, wincing at the obvious begging in her voice. "Don't ask this. I've already lost two people, and now you're asking us to go on a suicide mission out there! I won't make them do that!"

Zelda's eyes widened. "You all agreed to do this the minute you reformed the Knights of Hyrule! Did you not know what you were getting yourselves into?"

"We knew," Hana hissed. "But we didn't think it would take this long. Where the hell is your precious Link, anyway?"

"He'll come," Zelda replied.

"You keep saying that, but so far the only ones that are out there is us. _Us_, Zelda. We've bled for these lands for six years now, and now you want us to march right into Ganondorf's castle!"

"Are you saying you aren't going to save Impa?!" Zelda's voice began to rise. "She is one of the few that can help defeat Ganondorf when the time comes!"

"I'm not saying that," Hana shouted back. "I know what's at stake here. Just..." Hana lowered her voice. "Don't ask anymore from them if we survive."

Zelda hesitated but then nodded once, curtly, and Hana turned to leave. "Hana," Zelda called out, stopping the other girl. Hana didn't turn around, but she heard Zelda's quiet whisper all the same. "He _will_ come."

Hana stepped back into the throne room and regrouped with Tak and Hot Rodder.

"Well..." Tak began. "Our second to last mission then?"

Hana closed her eyes and felt that same guilt from before flood through her once again.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, folks!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Thanks for the review, rj703, and good luck on your midterms! ...Rock like a Goron to wave your domain... I have no idea what that means but I like it! LOL! **

* * *

Chapter XXV

In which yet another rescue is attempted...

The three remaining Knights were gathered about a small table that was tucked away in one of the rooms at Zora's Domain. Several maps were scattered about the table, most of which were either of Hyrule or what little they knew about Ganondorf's castle from Sheik.

"The dungeons are in the basement level," Hana said. "There's no way to get there without first getting to this section on the first floor here." She pointed to a part of the castle.

"Well that's near the back. How are we supposed to get there and still be alive?" Tak asked humorlessly.

"Maybe we could sneak through a window?" Hot Rodder suggested, his armor clanking noisily every time he shifted his weight.

"No, that won't work. Ganondorf's got some sort of shield all around the place. The only opening is through the main door."

"Which is heavily guarded, of course," Tak added.

"Tak, please; if you aren't going to help..."

"Alright alright. Let me see." Tak leaned over the table and stared at the maps, fully focused now on forming a plan.

Ruto and Sheik were watching from the doorway, barely daring to breath lest they interrupt the others.

"They'll work it out," Ruto said when they finally turned away from the room. "They always do. You should've seen their plan to get into the desert, it's amazing it even worked!"

"Ruto, do you think I ask too much of them?" Sheik asked.

"Well of course you do! But that's just the way the world is right now. We have to ask too much of everyone."

Sheik looked away from her. "I've taken away so many childhoods from too many people," he mumbled.

"I can't hear you if you're going to mumble," Ruto snapped.

"Of course," Sheik said apologetically. "Excuse me."

"Hey, Sheik, listen... that was Ganondorf. He stole all our lives the minute he touched the Triforce."

Sheik looked at her thoughtfully for a while before a smile twitched on his lips. "Perhaps."

Suddenly a shout from inside the room distracted them from their own conversation. "None of us even knows how to pick a lock, Hana! That won't work!"

"I didn't say pick, I said break!"

Sheik quickly stepped inside to break up the argument, but it turned out he didn't have to. Tak was scratching at the stubble growing on his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Oh, break. That could work actually," he commented.

Ruto laid a hand on Sheik's shoulder. "It's how they work," she said, amusement in her voice.

"How is it going?" Sheik asked.

Hana glanced towards him and then back at the maps. "Yep, we've got it." Tak and Hot Rodder nodded in agreement.

"Really? That was... fast."

Tak looked towards Sheik. "You did say it was an emergency."

"I trust you, of course. Goddesses be with you."

The others glanced at each other and gave a few quiet chuckles.

"Yeah, thanks," Hana said amusedly as the three filed out of the room. "Just what we need."

Sheik watched them leave and then looked at Ruto with confusion in his eyes. "What was that about?"

"Oh nothing," Ruto responded, waving her hand dismissively. "They have this superstition that if the goddesses are named then something bad will happen."

Sheik frowned with surprise and then stared after the Knights as they disappeared through the waterfall and back into the world. "They can't really believe that... can they?"

* * *

Hana, Tak, and Hot Rodder looked at each other and exchanged concerned expressions. They had not managed to get very far before they were overrun by Ganondorf's minions. The castle was just in view, towering darkly over the demolished buildings of the market square that the three had just attempted to storm through. Now they were each held by some very large Moblins - Hot Rodder was grabbed by two of the largest the Knights had ever seen.

"Do we kill them?" One Stalfos asked eagerly.

"No," another replied. "These are the ones Ganondorf has been after for years now. We take them to the dungeon."

"Fine."

Hana grinned at him. "Gee, don't sound so disappointed."

The Stalfos swung his skeletal hand across her face. Her head snapped back from the force and hit against the Moblin's thick armor. Pain exploded in her head, but then she felt herself losing consciousness. She struggled against it as the Moblins started to drag her and her friends towards the castle, but the swelling in her head eventually won out and she was soon swamped in darkness.

* * *

Zelda awoke to the sound of her false name being called out by a worried sounding Ruto. Scrambling out of her temporary bed, she raced towards the throne room and met the other princess halfway there. "What is it?" Zelda demanded.

"Well, I've got good news, and I've got bad news," Ruto began. "Which do you want to hear first?"

"How about whatever had you calling me in the middle of the night," Sheik answered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Right, the bad news then. Ok. Well... we've just heard from Ganondorf's castle..." Ruto drifted off, but a glare from Sheik made her continue. "The latest news from the castle is that some of the Knights of Hyrule were caught trying to storm in."

Sheik felt his heart skip a beat. "No," he whispered.

"I'm sorry, Sheik, but they're planning the execution in a week's time. They're inviting everyone to come and witness it."

"A week? That still gives us time!"

"Time for what? Rescue? Don't be ridiculous! If they couldn't break into his castle no one can!"

"All they did was try to rush in! What sort of plan was that anyway?"

Ruto tilted her head as she considered this. "A Hana plan?" She took a step back when Sheik glared at her. "What? It's true! The girl just rushes into any sort of danger without really thinking about it."

Sheik rubbed at his shoulder distractedly. "What was your good news then?"

"Pardon?"

"You said you had good and bad news. What was the good?"

"Oh, right! Well, as you know, Lord Jabu-Jabu and my father have been deliberating on what to do about Ganondorf's attempts to get us Zoras to join him. The good news is that Lord Jabu-Jabu has finally come to a decision!"

"Oh?"

"Come, quickly! He wants you to hear it, too!"

Ruto pulled Sheik through the throne room and outside where Lord Jabu-Jabu rested. King Zora was already there, his large, bulging eyes staring out over the water.

"Go ahead, then, Lord Jabu-Jabu," King Zora said as soon as Sheik and Ruto were standing next to him. "Let us hear what you have decided."

The giant fish creature gave a low hum and one of its eyes lazily trailed over the small group standing in front of him. "I have decided... that I am leaving."

The area suddenly became so quiet that they would have been able to hear a pin drop from the other side of the lake.

"You're leaving?" Ruto repeated dubiously. "Well what sort of decision is that!? That's not even a decision! That's just you being a big ol' scaredy cat!"

"Is not," Lord Jabu-Jabu argued. "I have, in my possession, something of the utmost importance that must be protected no matter what."

"What is it?" Sheik asked, hoping it would be something they could use to help win the war.

Jabu-Jabu looked at him. "It is not something that will help the world today," he answered, as if reading his mind and seeing his hopes. "Someday, it will be important, but for now I must simply watch over it. I cannot do that here. Soon, Ganondorf will see through our delays and he may obtain my precious item."

"How could he see through our ruse?" Ruto snapped at him. "It's perfect! Zoras have always been slow to make decisions." There was a brief moment in which Ruto paused to throw a barely perceivable glare in her father's direction, but Sheik was the only one to notice and then Jabu-Jabu broke the silence.

"It won't be a ruse for much longer, for I have come to yet another decision. The Zora will go to war. They will be needed before the end of tomorrow."

Sheik, along with Ruto and King Zora, were taken aback by this.

"We will openly fight against Ganondorf?" King Zora asked.

"Indeed," Jabu-Jabu responded.

Ruto gave a sound of impatience under her breath. "Well it's about time! I've been saying we should do that from the start!"

"Then go, Ruto, and prepare your army. Perhaps, in another life, we shall meet again, but for now I bid you all a fond farewell."

The deck that Lord Jabu-Jabu rested on began to groan loudly as the fish started to flap his fins and slide into the water. In another moment he was gone, disappearing deep into the water with a final splash.

* * *

**Have a good weekend everyone, and thanks for reading! Also, if anyone is in or was in the path of Hurricane Sandy, I hope you get/got through it safe and unharmed.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Ok, let me start off by saying that I apologize for missing Tuesday's update! I lost power on Monday, but today I managed to slip past all the trees that had fallen on the roads and make it to school, so now I have internetz! Yay!**

**Second: Thanks to Soul Engineer for reviewing! I hope everything's all right with you after the storm! And I'm glad you liked how I got rid of Jabu-Jabu; it always bothered me that the game never really explained where the giant thing went; I mean, it's such a huge fish, _someone_ must have seen where he went. So I thought I'd try to tie his disappearance into Wind Waker.**

**Third: Thanks to JesusLover13 for reviewing! I have to say, that is probably the awesome-est review I've ever gotten, thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story (and I completely understand preferring a family member's writings to anyone else, I'm the same way, lol!).  
****Not to worry, all but two of your questions will be answered by the end of the fic, and the ones that won't be answered in the story I'm going to answer right now! :-D**

**After this story is finished I have a few ideas for some more humorous fics that I'll probably work on next. I don't think there will be a sequel to this (I don't have any plans at the moment) but who knows... Anyway, after I've gotten the parodying out of my system, I probably will do some more serious stuff again.**

**Also, yes! That was a reference to Skyward Sword when the knights from the sky were mentioned. Have a cookie for noticing! :-)**

**Onward with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter XXVI

In which one is left...

Hana managed to pull herself out of her unconscious state not too long after she had entered it, but she found that she was already in the castle's dungeon. Heavy chains were wrapped around her wrists, the other ends of which were set in the stone ceiling above her. They stretched her arms above her head and had her swinging slightly in the air, her feet barely able to scrape against the floor. Tak was in a similar position across from her; glancing to her side she saw Hot Rodder next to her, although he had more chains wrapped around him that kept him practically stuck to the wall.

"This," Tak began to sputter as soon as he noticed Hana was awake. "This has to be the stupidest plan we've ever come up with. And we've had some crazy stupid ones, too."

"It's working, isn't it? We're already in the dungeons!" Hana said calmly, springing her legs up to try and shake the chains loose from the ceiling. She fell back with a sigh when the stone above her didn't budge.

"I already tried, this stuff is stronger than we thought it'd be. Now can I please get back to my original point? Getting captured on purpose was just stupid."

"Rod, how you doing?" Hana asked, ignoring Tak for the moment.

"I think... I think I feel something coming loose. Maybe." Hot Rodder flexed his arm muscle, but Hana couldn't see anything moving.

"Well at least your feet are on the darn ground!" Tak complained. "My arms are getting sore already."

"Hang in there, we'll get out soon," Hana replied.

"Oh,_ hang in there_, sure... I see what you did there. That's funny," Tak said in a voice that said he wasn't amused at all. "Don't worry, Rod, take your time getting free. We've got Hana's superb sense of humor to entertain us here."

Hana chuckled just as the thick wooden door to their cell was swung open harshly, its hinges creaking loudly in protest at the sudden movement. Standing in the doorway and surrounded by the light of the torches in the room and the hall behind him stood Lord Ganondorf.

The tall man stepped inside, an amused expression on his face. "I'm so glad you were able to join me today," the man said, his deep voice echoing around the room. "Let me see..." Ganondorf began to circle the room, stopping for a while in front of each of the Knights as he passed them. "The red headed boy. That little test of your explosions a few weeks ago collapsed two of my outposts."

"Sorry about that," Tak said casually. "The lake looks better without them, though. Aesthetics, man! They're important, too!"

Ganondorf cast him a bemused expression before moving on. "And here's the captain of your little group," he said, stopping in front of Hana. "I came all the way to Gerudo Fortress to meet you, but you'd already left. Do you know how disappointing that was?"

Hana shrugged, or at least tried to. The position her arms were in made it somewhat difficult to carry out the action.

"Well let me tell you: Very. In fact, I was so disappointed that I killed Alya, and she was a good soldier of mine."

Hana tried to keep the surprise from her face. A part of her was relieved that Alya was dead; she had been concerned that she would be one to greet them when they first got to the dungeons. Another part of her was regretful. She had wanted to kill the Gerudo herself.

"And the Goron," Ganondorf said, taking a few steps closer towards Hot Rodder. "Are you even aware that there's an entire city of your people not too far from here? Well, whether you know or not is of little importance. Just know that I intend to punish them severely for your betrayal."

Hot Rodder glared at him. "It's not a betrayal if I was never with you."

"True. But there's the thing you people just don't seem to understand. _All_ of Hyrule is with me, because I am king. Anyone who goes against me is betraying me, whether they think so or not."

Ganondorf suddenly swung around and placed one of his hands over Tak's forehead. "So, you will all bare the mark of traitor to your executions!"

A red glow emanated from the Gerudo's hand, and suddenly Tak began to scream. Hana was horrified; she had no idea what was happening to her friend, but she had never once heard him scream before. Not even when they had been on the receiving end of a surprise attack one night and an arrow had pierced straight through Tak's leg.

"Leave him alone!" Hana shouted. She could hear Hot Rodder yanking at his chains desperately. Finally the sound of stones crumbling reached her ears, and she watched as Hot Rodder tore apart the stone wall to free the chains that kept him tied to it.

Ganondorf turned in surprise, but Hot Rodder was already upon him, throwing his fist into the man's chest. The Gerudo was sent hurtling through the air before he slammed against the wall right next to Hana. Slumped over, Ganondorf didn't move at all. Hana quickly kicked at him, but he still didn't budge.

Hot Rodder moved over to Tak and yanked his chains free from the ceiling.

"You ok, Tak?" Hana asked as he leaned against the wall, pressing his hands to his forehead.

"Yeah, I think so. Geez, Rod, you couldn't do that earlier? Goddesses, this stings."

Hana was soon freed as well, and in another moment Hot Rodder was picking up one of the rocks he had broken through and smashing it against their manacles, breaking them open and freeing their wrists.

"Tak, let me see." Hana carefully pried the man's hands away from his face and grimaced at the sight that met her eyes. White scars raised the skin on Tak's forehead, forming Hylian letters that clearly spelled out the word 'traitor'.

"Yep," Tak groaned as he ran his fingers over the letters. "I'm definitely letting my bangs grow out after today."

Hot Rodder growled and turned around sharply, the rock still in his hands as he prepared to smash it into Ganondorf. He let the rock fall when he saw Ganondorf had disappeared. "Where'd he go?"

"We have to get moving," Hana said, helping Tak get to his feet. "Can you walk?"

"Sure, yeah," Tak said quickly, waving a hand dismissively; Hana couldn't help but notice that his hand was shaking, but she didn't point it out to him.

Outside their cell was a long hallway that was lined with several doors similar to their own cell's. There was also a long line of weapons, presumably belonging to all the prisoners Ganondorf had taken over the years. The Knights soon found their own weapons and then quickly started to break down doors in their search for Impa.

Before they had even managed to check half of the doors, the sounds of Stalfos running down a flight of stairs and to the hallway they were in reached their ears.

"We're running out of time here," Hana said with a scowl as she kicked down another door, only to be greeted by yet another empty room. Several others they checked had corpses in them, or even skeletons. Finally they found the one that held Impa.

The woman was chained similarly to how they had been, and she seemed much thinner than the last time they had seen her.

"What are you doing here?" Impa coughed.

"Well, we thought we'd take a tour of Ganondorf's place, but then we got lost," Tak began conversationally as Hot Rodder began to work on freeing the woman. Hana stood nearby, gripping the Sheikah's arm to offer support for when she fell to the ground. "And so here we are, making as much noise as we can and trying to get someone's attention so they can show us the way out," Tak finished.

Impa smiled at them after she fell to the floor. "Thank you."

"Don't thank us yet," Hana said. "Wait 'til you see the sky."

The group of four rushed out and ran in the opposite direction that the sounds of the Stalfos were coming from. The quickly reached the end of the hallway. The only exit was a window set high up in the wall. Just through the glass was a thick, magical shield that spun around the castle. It resembled a spider web in a way, only where a spider would have holes between its sticky fibers, the shield was filled with an almost shimmering wall of dark magic. Past the wall they could make out the ground below them, burnt and charred from being exposed to Ganondorf's evil powers for so long.

"Don't touch that," Impa said as they examined the shield through the window. "It could kill you."

"Where now?" Tak asked. Shadows of Stalfos were creeping along the walls in the distance, getting larger as the monsters came closer.

"Hot Rodder, help me up so I can see better," Impa said. The Goron quickly curled into a ball and remained stationary so the Sheikah could climb onto his back and peer out better. "I think I might be able to make a hole through it, long enough for us to get through."

Hana and Tak drew their swords and stood side by side, creating a wall between the approaching Stalfos and Impa and Hot Rodder. "How long?" Hana asked.

"A few minutes. It will take all my concentration."

"Let me know when you're done, goro. I can launch you out to safety!"

"Hana," Tak whispered so the people behind them couldn't hear. "That window's kinda small."

Hana glanced in back of her and saw that it was rather small. If this really was going to be their escape route, she realized that Hot Rodder would not fit through such a tiny opening. Hot Rodder seemed to notice the same thing at the same time as her, and he quickly spoke up to convince them to take the escape route, his voice muffled from his head being tucked underneath him.

"You guys go, too, goro. I'll find another way out."

"Rod, just forget it," Hana said as the first few Stalfos came into view. They grinned when they caught sight of the two Knights. "We're not leaving you. We'll get Impa out, and then we'll go back the way we came."

If Hot Rodder did respond, his voice was drowned out by the sounds of swords clashing against each other. The Stalfos had reached them. Most were stuck behind the few that could fit in the front of the group, due to the narrowness of the hallway. As soon as they managed to kill a few, more of the skeletons would scramble over their dead comrades to continue the fight. As the battle carried on, Hana and Tak soon had a nice little wall of Stalfos corpses that slowed the others behind them quite conveniently.

"Done!" Impa suddenly shouted. Hot Rodder didn't waste any time in promptly standing up, launching the Sheikah through the air and past the shield into the relative safety of the outdoors.

"Let's go!" Hot Rodder said, quickly curling into a ball and waiting for his next passenger.

"We're not leaving without you!" Tak shouted back.

Hot Rodder poked his head up. "Someone needs to escort Impa, and besides there's too many!"

Hana didn't want to admit it; she hated herself for even having the same thought just a few seconds ago, but it was true. Already they were beginning to tire, and the Stalfos showed no signs of running out of troops.

"I'll roll past them as soon as you're out! I'll find a bigger exit," Hot Rodder continued. "Please, just go before the shield closes up again!"

"Tak," Hana said.

"Hana," Tak growled, slashing the head off another Stalfos.

"Go."

"No."

"Yes."

"Forget it!"

The two paused in their fighting long enough to glare at each other. "I'm not going to leave him," Hana said. "But Rod's right, someone should go with Impa to make sure she makes it back safely."

"So you do it!"

"Tak, you're hurt, now go before you slow us down!"

Tak glared at her and then his face softened. "You better live."

"Of course we will. Now go, idiot."

Tak quickly pulled back, and Hana moved to the center of the floor to cover the area Tak had previously been watching.

"Thanks, buddy," Tak said as he scrambled up onto the Goron's back.

"Off you go!" Hot Rodder said cheerfully as he sent Tak following after Impa. "Now you, Hana!"

"You can't order me around, I'm captain," Hana grunted out between sword thrusts. "Now get over here and help me."

Hot Rodder took a step towards her, his fists already raised, when the Stalfos suddenly stopped fighting. It took Hana by such surprise that she nearly missed the now rigid Stalfos and fell onto her face. "What the...?"

"I'm impressed," came the voice of Ganondorf. "Really, I am." The Stalfos parted to allow the tall man through. "I thought they would've killed you right away, but now I see you people require a little more... force." He laughed when Hana directed her sword towards him. "Oh you can't kill me. No one can, because, you see, I have this!" Ganondorf raised his hand so the back of it was pointed towards Hana. On it, the symbol of the Triforce glowed brightly. "The Triforce of Power. You pathetic fools can't even hope to scratch me."

"I don't know about that," Hana said, trying to hide how nervous she was feeling. "Rod smacked you into the wall pretty good."

Hot Rodder burst into laughter. "And then you ran away!"

A sneer stretched across Ganondorf's face. He turned his hand so that the front was now facing them. A dark ball of light slowly began to grow between his fingers.

Hana took a few steps back. "What is that?"

Hot Rodder gripped the back of her armor. "Sorry, goro, but the shield is closing," he whispered.

"What?" Then he lifted her up, and she realized what he was doing. "Rod, no! Put me down!"

"Do you know why I joined the Knights?" Hot Rodder asked as he carried her towards the window. "It's because you made me feel ashamed. You little people were so brave, and I was just hiding in the city. I didn't even know how to use a forge properly, so I couldn't even help my own people there. I do not feel ashamed anymore. Thank you."

"Rod!" Hana screamed. The Goron ignored her and threw her out the window. The shield sealed itself right behind her, but Hana could still feel the blast of magic that shook the hall she had just left. The sky lit up from the magic being used. Twisting in the air as she fell, Hana saw with horror that the wall they had climbed through was now gone, reduced to a pile of rubble. The explosive force of Ganondorf's powers had ripped through the entire section of his castle.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27 is here! Which means next week ends the entire thing, since all that's left is chapters 28, 29, and then the epilogue, which I'm planning on uploading on Friday along with chapter 29. It feels weird saying next week is it for this fic... **

**Anyways, thanks to Soul Engineer for reviewing, I'm glad to hear you weren't hit by the storm too badly! I'm also really glad you liked the chapter! It's really awesome of you to say it was full of epic win, that made me so happy I was grinning like an idiot throughout the rest of the day, so thank you!**

**And thanks to JesusLover13 for reviewing! I'm really really honored that you think this story is better than the game, that really made my day when I read that! Thank you very much :-)  
Happy Halloween to you, too! I was actually really annoyed with myself for forgetting to mention Halloween last chapter; it's probably one of my favorite days of the year, but it just completely slipped my mind until after I uploaded it...**

* * *

Chapter XXVII

In which a resolution is made...

Hana landed roughly onto the ground. Her gaze never left the pile of rubble that used to be the area where Hot Rodder had stood just a few seconds ago.

"Hana!" Tak's voice drifted over to her but it sounded off, almost as if he were trying to shout through a wall. She felt a hand on her shoulder and quickly pulled away, scrambling to her feet and swinging her sword. "Watch it!" Tak shouted, leaping back. His voice sounded more clear now, but she couldn't meet his gaze. His eyes were wide with accusation, but also relief at seeing her still alive. "Where's Rod?"

"He..." Hana looked back to the castle.

"No." Tak's sword dropped limply from his hand. "Not him."

Impa came rushing towards them. "We have to get moving, now! There will be a time later to mourn for the lost."

"Right," Hana said bitterly, picking up Tak's sword and handing it back to him. He gripped it tightly and nodded, but his expression was far from determined.

"Fools!" Ganondorf shouted. He was standing at the very top of his castle, his cloak billowing about him. "You shall not escape from here!"

The ground below them began to suddenly shake, nearly knocking the group from their feet.

"What's happening?" Tak shouted as they clung to each other for balance.

"It's Ganondorf," Impa shouted. "Look!"

The castle was starting to slowly rise into the air; it pulled at the earth as if desperate to escape from the world. Spreading out from the castle's base were long, deep cracks that sped towards them. The air grew warm and thick with the smell of burning earth.

"We have to move!" Hana shouted.

They raced away from the spreading cracks as fast as they could while columns of lava spewed from some of the deeper ruptures. The hot substance was spat from the earth all around them and a few little droplets landed on them, creating tiny burns in their skin.

The castle pulled itself off of the ground with a final lurch; the ground around it collapsed into the hole it left behind before the lava slowly seeped in and filled the giant crater. The Knights and Impa were forced to jump in order to escape the sinking land. They landed safely, barely an inch away from the giant pit of lava that swirled underneath the castle.

"Quickly," Impa said, and she raced down the path towards the town. Hana and Tak rushed after her.

The market area was filled with just as many Moblins and Stalfos that had been there when they had first arrived, only this time they were distracted by the castle that had moved into the air. So busy were they, staring at the castle, that it took them a while to notice Impa, Hana, and Tak charging past them. By the time they did, the Hylians and Sheikah were already racing across the rotting bridge that led across the moat and out to Hyrule Field.

"After them!" Ganondorf's voice boomed out. Even though he was far away, it sounded as if he was standing right next to them.

The stalfos stormed after them; despite their head start, they could already hear the monsters' heavy footsteps stomping close behind. They stuck to the river as much as possible, hoping that the worry of falling into the water would slow the creatures down. Nobody bothered to mention that they probably wouldn't make it to safety. Instead, they all focused on running. The Stalfos were nearly upon them, one even started to swing his sword at their backs, when a large boomerang like object rushed past the trio and slammed into the monster closest to them.

Not slowing down, Hana glanced to her side and couldn't help but grin. The river was full of Zoras that were all swimming alongside them, attacking the Stalfos with their detachable fins without even slowing. At the head of the army was Ruto, leading the charge and pointing out any Stalfos that the Zora warriors were missing.

"Impa, Hylians, this way!" Ruto shouted, leaping gracefully from the water and standing on the ground not too far off from them. Turning, the trio raced towards Ruto as three other Zoras joined their princess out of the water. "We're carrying you back to our domain, hold on tight!" Ruto said.

Each of the three other Zoras grabbed one of the escapees before leaping back into the water, followed closely by Ruto. Hana was mostly submerged under the water during the entire trip, but during that time she could still catch glimpses of the other Zoras as they swam around her, leaping to the surface every so often to strike at the Stalfos.

Before Hana even felt the need to breath again, the Zora carrying her suddenly pulled up sharply. They flew through the air, and Hana watched in amazement as they rose high enough to get through the waterfall and into Zora's Domain. The second her feet hit solid ground the Zora carrying her released her and then jumped back down into the river. Tak and Impa were standing nearby, along with Ruto. They were soon joined by Sheik, who rushed over to them breathlessly.

"Impa! Are you all alright?"

"We're fine," Impa answered calmly. Turning to Ruto she gave a small bow. "Thank you for the rescue."

"Yeah, really!" Tak said. "That was awesome!"

Ruto smiled smugly and then turned to look outside through the waterfall. "Fall back!" she shouted, her voice echoing around the cavern. "Our Domain is not easily reached," she said, taking a few steps to the side to make room for the sudden rush of Zoras that came leaping inside. "Ganondorf will have a hard time getting in here, but our defenses won't last forever. Especially now that he knows we won't join him."

"Then we need to evacuate," Sheik said quickly.

"We shall do no such thing!" Ruto said indignantly.

"Ruto, your people can't stay here."

"We will defend this place to our dying breath."

Sheik crossed his arms and glared at the princess. "You held this place for a long time, it was admirable of you, but now it's time to let it go for now."

Hana stepped forward. "I have to agree, Princess Ruto; Ganondorf is not someone you want to take risks with."

Apparently this was the wrong thing to say, as Ruto's face instantly began to turn an odd purple color. "I will not abandon my home to that conceited moron."

Sheik sighed tiredly. "I know what this is really about, you know."

"Do you? Well good for you," Ruto sniffed in irritation.

Hana looked from Sheik to Ruto in confusion, but when it became apparent that the two were perfectly happy just glaring at each other, she decided she would have to ask. "What is this really about?"

Sheik rubbed at his temples. "She insists on keeping this place so that Link will have a safe haven when he returns."

Tak frowned. "You still think he's going to come?"

Ruto narrowed her eyes at him. "Of course I do! We're betrothed! He's not going to just leave me here without him! What sort of man would do that?"

Sheik rolled his eyes. "Ruto, your first responsibility is to your people."

Ruto instantly deflated, and the beginnings of a pout began to work its way onto her face. "Fine."

While Sheik and Ruto began to discuss where they should go, Hana watched the other Zoras return home. Then she frowned; standing right outside and staring at her with that same amused expression was Ganondorf himself. "Guys," Hana said. Her voice, while quiet, was serious enough to instantly silence Ruto and Sheik. Sheik breathed in sharply.

Ganondorf laughed quietly. "Fools! Did you think that you could escape me!?"

"Just try to get in here, Ganondorf," Ruto shouted back without hesitation. "This water has held back countless enemies of the Zora."

"Indeed? Other, worthless races of Hyrule, perhaps. But not me. You see, I happen to know that your water's strength is only as strong as your god's protection, and he's... well, he's not here anymore, is he?" Ganondorf smirked. "I wonder why he would leave you at such a critical time. Ah well, that's how the old gods are. Not me though; if you had joined me, I would've made sure you had all stayed protected for all eternity." Ganondorf shrugged before swiping his cloak back and raising his arms. "I curse you, Zoras! Let your precious rivers turn against you!"

"Quick, we have to leave!" Sheik said, pulling Ruto away from the water. The group raced away from Ganondorf and deeper into the domain.

Tak suddenly shivered. "Does it seem sort of cold to you?"

"Now that you mention it," Hana began, but she was quickly interrupted by Ruto as she started to give orders to her people.

"Quickly, everyone! Down into the tunnel to Lake Hylia!"

Hana was surprised at the princess' sudden change of opinion on evacuating, but then again Ganondorf was a very intimidating figure, and the fact that he was standing right outside had probably been enough to make Ruto change her mind. Especially since they had no idea what his curse was going to do.

A blast of cold air flew past them just as Ruto leaped into the water along with her people. "Come on!" Ruto said, looking at the others who were still standing on the ground. Then she looked around. "Where's my father?"

"We'll get him!" Hana said quickly. She and Tak quickly ran towards the throne room. Sheik soon followed after them, with Impa not far behind. "You should leave, Sheik!" Hana said disapprovingly as they neared the throne room.

"I have a bad feeling something happened to him," Sheik countered. "I may be able to help."

Sheik's fears became reality when they stepped inside. The King was frozen rigid, his eyes still staring out from behind a layer of thick, unnaturally colored ice.

"Oh no," Sheik whispered. "The Zoras! We have to get them out of the water!"

Hana and Tak exchanged glances before racing after the Sheikah. The two Hylians stopped in horror when they saw the water the Zoras were still in was beginning to freeze over. Already the edges were solid, and it was spreading quickly towards the middle of the small lake.

Without a second's delay, Sheik dove into the water after the Zoras.

"Sheik!" Impa shouted, but the Sheikah was already deep under the water.

"She doesn't have much time," Tak commented worriedly. They watched as the ice began to close over the lake faster; some of the Zoras below seemed to already be stuck as the temperature decreased rapidly. There was only a small hole left in the center of the lake, and even that was about to disappear when Sheik and Ruto finally appeared. They broke through the surface of the water, Sheik gasping for breath as the others rushed forward and yanked them out of the water and onto the ice.

"Check her," Sheik coughed out, pointing to Ruto who appeared to be unconscious.

"The cold has put her to sleep," Impa said, placing a hand over the princess' brow. "She should awaken as soon as we get her somewhere warm."

Hana and Tak ran back to the waterfall and peered outside. Ganondorf was gone. "It looks clear!" Hana shouted. "We should hurry though!"

Slinging Ruto over her shoulder, Impa rushed over to join them. "We will escape into the forest."

"We can't do that!" Sheik said quickly as he joined them.

"Why not?" Tak asked. "It sounds like a good enough place to hide as any."

"A Zora? In the forest? Are you insane? They are far more susceptible to the powers that are in those woods than any other race. We cannot take her there, even for one second. We have to keep her near what little powers are left in the waters."

"Lake Hylia then?" Impa asked. Sheik nodded.

Hana stared at them. "Are you kidding? You expect to be able to march all the way across Hyrule Field without getting caught?"

"We have to try," Sheik replied, bending her knees slightly to get a better look at Ruto's face, most of which was hidden by Impa's shoulder.

Hana and Tak looked at each other and then stepped closer so they could converse privately. Not much was said, as they already knew what the other was thinking.

"We don't have to," Hana said. "We could easily slip into the forest and join Grog and Fado."

"Yeah, we could," Tak replied. "But we won't."

They looked at each other for a split second before nodding decidedly and turning back to face the others. "We'll give you the time you need," Hana said.

Sheik and Impa looked at them in shock.

"How do you plan to do that?" Sheik asked.

"Well," Hana began as Tak began to twirl his sword casually. "We were thinking of challenging Ganondorf's army out on the Field. Give you time to slip past them."

"That..." Impa said. "Is suicide."

"Says you," Tak replied conversationally. "We're actually pretty good at the whole fighting thing."

Sheik stepped forward. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly.

Hana and Tak looked at each other one last time and then both nodded.

"This is what the Knights of Hyrule are for," Hana said.

Sheik slowly bowed his head and then stared up at them. "Goddes-" he stopped and observed their grim expressions. "Send them all to oblivion."

The two Hylians grinned. "That's what we do best."

* * *

**Thanks for reading, have a good weekend, and even though I'm a bit late, Happy Halloween to anyone who celebrates it!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Here it is, the last update for Tuesdays! **

**Thanks to rj703 for reviewing! Congratulations on pwning your midterms! Have a cookie! **

* * *

Chapter XXVIII

In which the Knights make fishing plans...

Mido pushed his way through a few bushes, grumbling under his breath about how annoying Hylians could be as he walked. It had been a few days since Grog had decided to stay and look after Fado, and while he had to admit the extra help was appreciated it didn't seem to be doing much good. Now the boss of the Kokiri was determined to get the Hylian to leave before something bad happened to him. He had his speech all planned out and everything; he had even rehearsed it a few times, to make sure he knew when to glare angrily at the man. Glares always made the other Kokiri children listen to him more, so he was hoping Hylians weren't much different.

"Now see here, Grog!" Mido shouted as he entered the clearing where Grog and Fado usually hung out. Fado was standing under a tree, twirling around and watching as her skirt ballooned out underneath her. Grog was sitting under that same tree, apparently asleep. "Hey, Grog," Mido said, cautiously shaking the man by his shoulder. "You look terrible, go home." Mido was right, Grog did look awful. Gone was his healthy skin tone and thick cords of muscle, replaced by a deathly white pale and bones standing out visibly under his skin.

Fado skipped closer and tugged at Mido's sleeve. "He's turning into something else!" Fado whispered into his ear.

"I know that!" Mido snapped.

"Not leaving her alone," Grog grumbled.

"She won't be alone, you simpleton," Mido snapped, still uncertain if the man was even hearing what he was saying. "I'm still here! Sheesh!"

"We're disgusting; not nice people... didn't notice."

"Gee whiz, man, get ahold of yourself! You're probably some of the nicest people I've met. Granted, I haven't met many people outside the forest but... you care. For crying out loud, out of all those people out there in the big world, only five of you stood up and said no. Tried to change it all on your own. Actually, never mind, that's not nice, that's just crazy."

"A nice crazy," Fado said with a glare pointed at Mido.

"Whatever," Mido said. "The point is, you don't deserve to die like this." He sighed when all Grog did was loll his head away from him. "You... you don't think you deserve to die, do you? Who would think that!? That's just ridiculous! How old are you anyway? Not even thirty yet, for the Great Deku Tree's sake! Do you know how old I am!? Way over thirty, let me tell you. Don't you go trying to die when you've barely gotten past being a newborn!"

"Don't worry!" Fado said suddenly. Mido looked at her hopefully, wondering if maybe she had snapped out of her daze. "He won't die, he'll just change into a monster!"

Mido's shoulders slumped.

* * *

"Seven years," Hana said.

"What?"

She looked over at Tak but didn't stop sharpening her sword. "It's been seven years to the day since I first saw Link disappear in that temple."

Tak smiled. "Then, that means it's been a little less than seven since we first met. Hunting ghosts. Those were the good 'ol days."

Hana matched his smile before tucking away her sharpening stone and testing the blade's edge with her thumb. "At least Grog and Fado will survive this."

"If Ganondorf leaves the forest alone. I mean, doesn't bother it anymore than he already has."

Hana shook her head. "Link will keep that from happening."

"You really believe he's going to show up?"

She didn't even hesitate before she nodded. "I do."

Tak looked a little more hopeful after hearing the confidence in her voice. "Well, that's good enough for me. It'd be nice to know that all this won't be for nothing." He stood up and then helped Hana to her feet. "Come on, let's go kill as many of those things as we can. Make things easier for that lazy Hero of Time."

Hana grinned at him, but her smile fell the minute Tak's back was turned. Seven years. If that kid wasn't back by now, why would he return at all? He had probably found a way to escape Ganondorf and was now living in some distant land, perfectly safe. She couldn't blame him for that; if she had a chance to get out of Hyrule completely she couldn't say if she wouldn't do the same thing.

But, even though he wasn't there, he offered some hope to Hyrule. Hope could be a powerful thing, and Hana wasn't about to take it away from Tak. Not now, anyway. Her only wish was that Zelda would realize Link may not return, and plan accordingly. Ganondorf had to be destroyed, it didn't really matter to her who did it just as long as it was done.

She sighed and then joined Tak, Sheik, and Impa, who was still carrying an unconscious Ruto. They left Zora's Domain and stepped into a flurry of snowflakes. Even though it was afternoon there was hardly any light. Dark clouds swirled high above them, blocking out the sun and casting dark shadows over them as they slipped along the river towards Hyrule Field. Distant rumbles of thunder threatened them with rain, but they pressed on nonetheless.

"Ok, give us a few minutes head start and then get going to the lake," Hana whispered to Sheik.

"Better make a run for it once you get going," Tak added helpfully. "We'll try to get them all on us, but we might miss a few."

We'll manage," Sheik said. "Good luck."

Impa nodded at the two Knights. "All right. We're counting on you."

Gripping their swords and shields, Hana and Tak quickly set off, back towards Ganondorf's castle. As they drew closer, a number of torches could be seen spread out about the field. Apparently, Ganondorf had already sent his army out to march towards Zora's Domain.

"He doesn't waste time, does he?" Tak commented, ducking slightly when a fat raindrop fell onto his head.

"Ready?" Hana asked.

"Sure. Hey, I was thinking, after this, we should go to the lake ourselves. I hear they've got good fishing there."

Hana smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

They grinned at each other and then ran towards the large army.

* * *

"Sheik, we must continue," Impa urged the younger Sheikah on.

They had made it halfway up a large hill when Sheik had suddenly stopped and turned towards the castle. It was too dark to make out anything except for the hundreds of torches that were pouring out of the old Hyrule Castle Town. Sheik felt his heart drop; there was no way they would survive.

"Sheik," Impa said again. "We shouldn't delay."

"Yes, of course, Impa."

They pressed on. The thunder above them clapped louder, nearly shaking the earth with its force. Soon they were soaking wet as heavy raindrops pelted onto them. As Sheik continued to walk through the storm, he found himself wondering why Link was still gone. A small wrinkle of doubt formed in his mind.

"Why aren't you here yet?" Zelda whispered.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! **


	29. Chapter 29

**Howdy, folks! Here's the last chapter chapter; next chapter is the epilogue! Now I know I said that I'd be uploading the epilogue along with this chapter, but I thought up some more stuff I wanted to add to it, so I'll be uploading that tomorrow instead. Sorry for the delay! In the mean time, please enjoy chapter 29!**

* * *

Chapter XXIX

In which it all ends...

Stalfos, Moblins, Lizaflos, and even a few Wolfos for good measure. These are what Hana and Tak found themselves facing as they stood back to back. The large army had easily swarmed around them so that the duo was now surrounded on all sides. Still, the battle had not yet begun; the entire army simply stood there, completely rigid, waiting for something.

Lightning flashed above them, breaking through the darkness that lay thick in the air. There was a rumble of thunder, and then rain began to pour down. It clanked against the two sides' armor, filling the air with the smell of rusting metal. As if that were the signal the army had been waiting for, the monsters all charged forward at once. The two remaining Knights ducked and stabbed out from behind their shields, never once separating long enough for any of the monsters to be able to slip behind one of them.

Hana felt her sword hand getting even stiffer than it usually felt after her encounter with Alya. She wasn't sure if it was because of the bad weather or the constant use, but whatever the reason the sudden inflexibility made it more difficult for her to maneuver her sword around. Another blade flashed out from seemingly nowhere and clashed loudly against the armor that covered her arm. The sudden force broke her grip from her sword. She didn't even have time to look for it as the same blade swung at her again.

Ducking, the blade swiped through the air where her head had been just a moment ago. She swung her shield out in the direction of this new blade and felt it strike against something solid. Glancing in that direction, she caught a glimpse of a Lizalfos; in what little lighting there was, Hana noticed that he had a deep scar along its long snout. It hissed angrily at her, and there was a glimmer of recognition in its eyes that Hana didn't share. All Lizalfos tended to look the same to her, even though this one seemed to be a tad more angrier towards her than the others she was fighting.

She tried to smash her shield into it again while she sidestepped away from a Stalfos. The Lizalfos managed to leap over her attack and it quickly disappeared into the larger army around them. Ignoring the odd behavior of the lizard, Hana quickly began to search for her sword. She soon spotted it, nestled safely in a clump of grass just a short distance from her. Despite its relative closeness, however, getting to it proved to be a bit of a challenge.

Taking tiny sidesteps, she slowly made her way through the swarm of monsters towards her sword. She could feel the force of their attacks against her shield; her arm was even beginning to tire by the time she made it within reachable distance of her offensive weapon. Snatching it up and swinging it towards the nearest enemy in one fluid motion, Hana was soon back to standing near Tak as they defended one another's backs.

Somewhere, she wasn't sure where exactly, she heard the stretch of a bow string close by. Busy with a Stalfos, she wasn't able to find the time to look for the source of the noise. All the same, she did manage to hold her shield towards the sound just as the twang of a bow string being fired reached her ears. Nothing hit her or clanked against her shield or armor, and so she quickly forgot about it.

"You guys have always been lousy shots," Hana thought to herself.

She felt Tak fall into her back and quickly stiffened to offer more support so he could pick himself up faster. The ground was even more slippery now that there were bodies and loose pieces of armor and weapons lying about; she was surprised they weren't slipping more often. But then, it was taking Tak an awfully long time to stand back up. She rolled her shoulders to encourage him to move, as it was rather difficult to keep up with her attacks while Tak was still leaning on her.

The motion did make Tak move, but not in the direction she expected him to. She felt him slide down her back and towards the ground. She felt more than heard Tak's body hit the ground next to her. Fumbling only slightly, Hana threw a deku nut in front of her. With the enemies she had been fighting against temporarily blinded by the sudden flash of light, Hana was free to turn around and get a better look at her friend.

It was then that she saw the arrow that she had been so quick to dismiss only a few seconds ago. The shaft was buried deep into his side, only the few feathers tied to the very end to keep it flying straight were visible. Hana realized that, for an arrow to pierce his armor like that, it must have been fired at a very close range. The sight of her friend not moving forced the analytical thought from her mind and replaced it with only concern.

"Tak!"

A hiss of laughter forced her gaze from her friend. There was the same, scarred Lizalfos from before. A bow was clutched in one of his hands while the other was left free to wave at the Hylian. The other monsters around this Lizalfos were hanging back, as if the lizard creature had decided that he would handle the Knights all on his own.

"You don't remember me, do you?" the Lizalfos shouted over the thunder and rain.

Hana didn't bother to respond. Instead, taking advantage of the short reprieve that this Lizalfos had unintentionally given her, she knelt down next to Tak and desperately searched for a pulse. His skin felt cooler than usual, but a low groan from the man sent a wave of relief through the girl.

The Lizalfos hopped closer towards her, annoyed that it was being ignored. "Six years ago, you stabbed me with my own arrow not too far from this very spot!"

Hana straightened and readied her sword and shield. "What do you want me to say? Sorry? Well I am." The lizard blinked in surprise, but then Hana quickly continued. "Sorry that I missed your neck, anyway."

"I nearly did die!" the Lizalfos screamed. "My own family disowned me for getting such a scar in such a pathetic battle."

Hana frowned; she hadn't really thought about Lizalfos being the family types, but she supposed they had to come from somewhere. As she was struggling to picture what sort of parent a Lizalfos would make, the creature lunged forward. He had discarded his bow and was now wielding the straight edged sword that was typical of his species.

Knowing that Tak really didn't have much time for this, Hana was determined to take care of the Lizalfos as quickly as possible and then make an escape. They must have given Zelda enough time to escape by now, and with all the other monsters hanging back it would be easier to break past them.

The Lizalfos' attacks were brutal and fast. Hana was reminded of the Gerudo as she fought to keep up with his movements. Their blades were barely visible as they cut through the air in blurs. Hana was mostly safe behind her shield, and the Lizalfos was able to leap over and around the Hylian's sword, so neither managed to get an actual hit onto the other. They continued like this for several minutes. Weariness was beginning to creep into Hana. It wouldn't be long now, she knew, before she started to slow down. Unfortunately for her, slowing down meant not being able to keep up with the Lizalfos, and not being able to keep up - even for a split second - meant death for her.

Breathing heavily, Hana desperately lunged towards her opponent. The Lizalfos quickly dodged her sword and swung down with his own. Hana felt the metal slip between two of her chain links and pierce through her shoulder. The sharp pain forced her shield from her hand, but it didn't stop her from swinging around and thrusting her sword towards the Lizalfos once again. She heard the Lizalfos scream just as her sword cut through the creature's side.

The lizard soon collapsed; it wasn't dead, but in enough pain that it wasn't going to be much of a threat anymore. She raised her sword once again, not even bothering to try and pick up her shield - it was impossible for her to move her shield arm through the pain that was pouring out of her shoulder. Her sword was swinging towards the Lizalfos that was lying on the ground in front of her, straight towards its head. The other Lizalfos made noises of protest, and the army surrounding her quickly began to charge towards her once again. The sound of laughter stopped them all.

"Fool!" the voice of Ganondorf shouted.

Sword poised just a hair's breadth away from the wounded Lizalfos, Hana looked back up towards the town. Ganondorf was standing on the wall, his red eyes gleaming dangerously.

* * *

Fado raced around Mido, screaming something about how she was so fast from all her journeys that she could now run circles around him. "That's how fast I am!" she shouted, disturbing the relative peace that the forest managed to offer to the Kokiri now that their village had been overrun.

"Yeah, yeah, that's great," Mido said, only half listening as he marched through the forest. He soon found Grog, although it hadn't been that hard. The man was still in the same place that Mido had left him; he was also in the same sickly condition. "Grog?

The Hylian merely groaned. Fado skipped over to him and started to poke him with some sort of strange looking stick that Mido had never seen before.

"Fado, stop that," Mido scolded gently, taking the stick from her. After a closer examination he saw that it wasn't a stick at all, but some sort of saw. "What is this?"

"It's his!" Fado said happily. "And I found it! Finders keepers, losers weepers, turn and run, stealing is fun!"

Mido stared at the younger Kokiri with raised eyebrows. "I don't think I ever heard that before."

Fado shrugged. "It's 'cause you just don't remember, 'cause you're a silly old grandpa!" She snatched the saw back from Mido before he could hide it from her and then went running off with it. She returned an instant later, the saw safely hidden from Mido so he couldn't take it from her again. "It was a present from his father when he turned ten, I have to keep it safe for him because someday they'll miss each other!"

Mido sighed as he scratched at his head, feeling annoyed that he had no idea what she was talking about. Finally he gave up trying to work it out and turned back to Grog. "Hey, Grog, you gotta leave." He sighed when Grog didn't answer. "I can't carry you out of here, you know."

"There's nothing left out there," Grog mumbled weakly. "All the nice people are gone now. Or going to be."

"Gee whiz, kid," Mido grumbled. "You're hopeless." The Kokiri boss shoved a mushroom into Grog's weak hands. "Take this and get out of here. Fado thinks it's the only thing that can help you, but you need it turned to a potion and she... well, she won't do that bit."

"Hey, you weren't supposed to actually give him that! It belongs to the forest! Things that belong here shouldn't ever leave!" Fado protested. She tried to grab the mushroom from Grog but Mido held her back. "You're mean, Mido!"

Mido watched as Fado stormed off before trying to continue his conversation with Grog. "You won't last much longer here you know."

Grog slowly turned his head to look up towards the sky. Mido glanced up as well and caught flashes of lightning breaking their way between the leaves above them. "Some storm, huh?" Mido asked.

"It's him," Grog said. "Ganondorf. They're out there, all alone, I know it." His head collapsed back against the stump he was leaning on. "The Knights of Hyrule."

* * *

"You must have known this would be a suicide mission!" Ganondorf shouted down at Hana from his position on the wall. "Although, I must admit that I am impressed yet again by you people. The two of you managed to kill off a good portion of my army. Not enough to make much of a difference, of course, but still." Ganondorf flung his arms so that his cape was pushed in back of him. "But this ends now! Behold the power of your king!"

A large sphere of dark, purple colored magic began to fill the gap between his raised hands. It continued to expand and grow until Ganondorf's face was completely hidden behind the collection of magic. Even then, Ganondorf continued to increase the dark magic's size. Panicked noises and grunts brought Hana's attention back to the army that had been about to rush her. They were all running away.

Hana watched them as they crashed into one another in their attempt to escape. Movement next to her brought her gaze down, and she noticed that even the Lizalfos she had been just about to kill was beginning to crawl away. He was dragging himself along the soaked ground as fast as his shaking limbs could move. Deciding that it might be wise to do what the others were doing, Hana quickly began to move away from Ganondorf as well.

She expected to see Tak running next to her, like he always did, but then she stopped short as realization struck her. Tak had been shot._ He was barely alive_. She turned and saw his body still slumped against the ground. It was in that moment that Ganondorf threw his creation. The sphere rushed towards her, crackling with energy. Hana leaped to the side in a last-ditch effort to get away in time.

The sphere crashed into the ground and enveloped the entire area in blackness as it quickly spread from the spot it had initially struck. White hot pain washed over Hana as she struggled to keep moving. All around her, she could hear the screams of the monsters that hadn't been fast enough to escape Ganondorf's wrath.

* * *

It took her a few minutes, but Fado finally calmed down long enough that Mido was able to convince her to not take the mushroom from Grog. Then he left, leaving the pair alone as splashes of rain water dripped on their heads as they slid down the leaves above them.

Fado tiptoed over to Grog, holding up a leaf she had found and using it as an umbrella to keep her fairy dry. "They won't remember us, you know," the Kokiri said seriously. "We won't be remembered, not really."

Grog wanted to ask her why, how she knew that, why their efforts to defeat Ganondorf would be forgotten, but all that he managed to get out was a strangled cough.

"They'll know we were out there. Their legends will tell them that the Knights died valiantly. But that's it. They won't remember our names."

"W...why?" Grog choked out.

"Ah, why," Fado said dreamily. "The question that keeps driving the races of Hyrule forward. That and 'how?' but I don't think it's as popular as 'why?'" Then Fado looked at him, her eyes filled with sadness. "Because we're not as important as he is. And that's just the way the world works."

* * *

Finally the darkness subsided, but most of the pain still remained. Hana stubbornly continued her trip back to Tak, although her progress was much slower than before. The wave of magic had disposed of all the monsters she and Tak had slain, and most of the ones they hadn't as well; every single corpse and living minion of Ganondorf's had dissolved into a pile of ashes that the harsh wind was wasting no time in dispersing across the field. Glancing down at herself, Hana saw even she was starting to dissolve into the air. It was a slow process, but small pieces of her armor and the skin on her bare hands were turning black before floating away from her and into the air.

Ganondorf was talking again, something about searching for Zelda himself; she barely registered his voice before he disappeared in a flash of smoke. She remained focused on reaching Tak; she was in too much pain to concentrate on anything else.

She nearly cried out with joy when she finally reached her friend. He seemed to be suffering the same fate that she was; it wouldn't be long before their own bodies were floating as ashes in the wind along with their fallen enemies. Collapsing next to Tak, she gripped his hand. A part of her just wanted the comfort that only a friend could offer, but most of her was simply looking for a pulse, or warmth, or any sign that he was still alive.

"That was... some attack..." Tak coughed out. "I mean... not very effective, was it? We're still here, and Zelda managed to get away safe and sound. And he sort of killed his entire army just to get us. Not the brightest, is he?"

"Not really," Hana said, shivering as another jolt of pain hit her. "So... fishing now?"

Tak laughed weakly. Their eyes met. "Fishing."

Immediately after he said this the sky above them lit up with a piercing ray of blue light. The clouds parted and the storm that had been raging over them was forced into a sudden stop. One last raindrop collapsed onto Hana's face and rolled down her cheek as the blue light broke through the darkness.

"It's him..." Hana whispered. "Link. He's back. Everything's going to be alright now, Tak. Hyrule will be saved. Zelda was right." Hana turned her head away from the light almost reluctantly to look at her friend. He wasn't moving. His eyes weren't even looking towards the light; instead, they were glazed over and staring towards his shield. The symbol, their symbol, the symbol of the Knights of Hyrule, was glowing brightly despite the cracks in its paint and dents in the metal it was painted on. The light was fading now, or maybe that was just the strange tunnel of black that was creeping into her vision. She remained fixed on the symbol and thought back to when Tak had first painted it on. How excited they had all been then. How naive. None of them had imagined it would all end like this.

The voices of old memories floated around her, but the one that was the loudest was that of a conversation she and Tak had had so many years ago.

_"Is that really all we can hope for?" Hana asked quietly. "Dying as we achieve our goal?"_

_Tak shrugged. "Sure, I guess. I mean, nowadays, anyway."_

_Hana nodded slowly. "Nowadays; I suppose so."_

Then again, maybe they had known all along.

* * *

**Epilogue arrives tomorrow, so stay tuned! Thanks for reading!**


	30. Epilogue

**Thanks to rj703 for reviewing! Hopefully this last chapter will cheer things up! **

* * *

Epilogue

Hana awoke with a start. Sweat dripped down her back, and she found herself wondering why. It was still spring time and wasn't even that hot out yet. She pushed her blanket off of her and tiptoed to her window. It was early, but most of the markets were already open. A few early shoppers were gathered around, already shouting out new prices that they hoped the sellers would agree to. Turning away from the window and fresh air, Hana frowned. Something felt off, but what was it?

She cast her mind back and then remembered her dream. What an elaborate, long dream it had been! Never before had she had a dream that had spanned several years. It had been filled with such detail, too. Normally Hana couldn't remember much of her dreams, but this one stuck in her head as if afraid that she would forget one single part of it.

"It was just a dream... right?" Hana asked no one in particular. She received a response nonetheless. Yorick lifted his head from under his wing and clucked at her curiously. Hana nodded. "Right." She frowned again; why did saying it was just a dream feel so wrong? But what else could it be? She tried to imagine herself actually doing some of the things she had done in her dream and then felt a shiver of fear course through her. "Definitely a dream."

She walked outside, Yorick following curiously. Her usual routine was to keep sleeping in until her mother pulled her from bed so that she could help with breakfast. Completely forgetting about this ritual, however, Hana walked casually along the streets. Breathing in the smell of fresh fruits and vegetables from the nearby stalls, she felt a sense of contentment fill her. Why she felt this way she had no idea; Hyrule Castle Town was always like this.

Then she passed by Malon, who was waiting patiently for her father to return from his most recent delivery trip at the castle. The young farm girl noticed Hana at the same time that she spotted her in the throng of people. They stared at each other, each wearing matching expressions as they tried to puzzle the other out. The same feeling that she had had when she had first woken up that morning coursed through her again.

"It was just a dream," she thought to herself, almost angrily. Yanking her gaze away from the girl, she stormed down the streets towards the fountain. Sitting down along the stone edge she watched Yorick as he started to clean his feathers, obviously upset over their usual schedule being changed the way it was.

The twins were nearby, casting mocking expressions at anyone who turned their back to them for more than a second. She watched only half interestedly as they started to laugh so hard at each others' expressions that they couldn't even manage to pull off any new ones. Eventually they broke off long enough to allow someone to get past them as a newcomer marched towards the castle.

Hana felt herself tense as she watched this new person. She had never seen him before, and yet, at the same time, she _knew_ she had. He was garbed in a green tunic, and short, blond hair was protruding out from underneath a green cap. His blue eyes were alight with confidence and looked far older than his physical age. The only thing missing from his appearance was a fairy, and Hana felt herself wondering what had happened to it before she realized that she had never seen him before and so how should she know if he had a fairy or not.

She leaped from her seat, startling Yorick, who had been just about to nod off to sleep again.

"It wasn't a dream!"

Logic told her it had to be, or else she should be dead right now and the town should be in shambles. Hana ignored that fact. Instead, she listened to the voice that was screaming at her, screaming that, somehow, it had all been real.

She could hear her mother's voice calling her name, but Hana ignored that as well and rushed out of the town. Her feet pounded against the wooden drawbridge and then the soft grass of Hyrule Field.

"It was real, I know it was! And that means..." Hana quickly set off towards Kakariko Village.

They met halfway. Both were out of breath from running, and both wore matching grins on their faces.

"I knew it!" Both she and Tak shouted at the same time. "I knew you were real!"

Hana quickly caught her breath. "Last night, did you have-"

"The craziest dream ever?"

"Yes! But how?"

Tak shrugged. "Beats me."

"Right."

They stared at each other, each pondering on how they could possibly know each other.

"Maybe..." Hana began uncertainly. "Maybe Zelda's plan worked? And so time reset or something?"

Tak shrugged, and there was another moment of silence. "So," he began after a while. "Want to hunt ghosts with me?"

* * *

A few days later, a small group of five Hyruleans were gathering just outside the Lost Woods. Three Hylians, a Goron, and a Kokiri, set up a small picnic under the thin canopy of trees; a large blanket was thrown on the ground on which they could sit comfortably to gaze up at the starry sky.

Hot Rodder peered up, smiling when he saw the clean, white clouds hovering over his mountain home. "What a beautiful night. Oh and look, a shooting star!"

Grog grinned as he fidgeted absentmindedly with a small saw. "You have to make a wish, goro."

Hot Rodder chuckled deeply. "I don't have anything to wish for-"

Fado suddenly scrambled onto her feet and bounced on her heels. "We really _do_ have to make a wish, rock man! It's a rule!"

Hana raised an eyebrow at the Kokiri. "What are you going to wish for then?"

"Oh, I don't know! I wasn't expecting I would have to make one right this minute! Wishes should take time to make!"

Hot Rodder gave a hum of agreement. As if that had settled the matter, Fado sat down again and the group simply sat together and watched the bright light pass by them.

"What a day!" Tak said, sighing contentedly.

A large smile grew on Hana's face. "Here's to many more like it."

* * *

_"There's not a word yet, for old friends who've just met."  
-Jim Henson_

* * *

**Well that's that, folks! A big thanks to anyone who has read this all the way to the end, I appreciate the time you took to read this much and I realize you could have spent it reading somebody's else's fic, or even doing something else entirely, so thank you for choosing to spend it reading this! I hope you all enjoyed the story. An especially big thanks to those who reviewed! Your reviews were all incredibly encouraging to me, and I really really appreciate you all taking the time to write the things you did.**

**Bye for now!**


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